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News/Announcements / Re: Second Apocalypse Discord Server [Yes, we have one!]
« on: March 16, 2023, 12:00:13 pm »
Yes! I sent you a link. Let me know if you still need access (the link expires eventually).
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2023
« on: February 27, 2023, 02:18:45 pm »
I think I am starting the year off with rereading Acts of Caine. I'm hoping is pretty interesting on a re-read given how the series ends, and also its been a few years so I forget most of the details. Its something of a blessing for having a shit memory, rereads are more fun!
Heroes Die (1)
This is really a great book. It couches some thought-provoking topics inside over-the-top action, which makes it fun to read both on a surface level and at a bit of a deeper level. It also has a delightful ending that I had largely forgotten about. Sure its a bit contrived, but it all fits together in a very satisfying way. This satisfaction is only enhanced by how the next book starts, almost making me wish the first Caine chapter of book 2 could have been shoved into the end of Book 1 (though I don't think that really works from a publishing or story telling perspective). Its not a masterclass tale of foreshadowing, like TDTCB for example, but its still great to reread (and more interesting on a first read than TDTCB).
Heroes Die (1)
This is really a great book. It couches some thought-provoking topics inside over-the-top action, which makes it fun to read both on a surface level and at a bit of a deeper level. It also has a delightful ending that I had largely forgotten about. Sure its a bit contrived, but it all fits together in a very satisfying way. This satisfaction is only enhanced by how the next book starts, almost making me wish the first Caine chapter of book 2 could have been shoved into the end of Book 1 (though I don't think that really works from a publishing or story telling perspective). Its not a masterclass tale of foreshadowing, like TDTCB for example, but its still great to reread (and more interesting on a first read than TDTCB).
Witness for the Dead was good. Addison must get enjoyment out of using as many unpronounceable proper names as she can. This elf-goblin society she's made is also very proper and there are titles and forms of address further muddling everything up, but it makes for a very atmospheric read. It's not terribly long and doesn't have a typical narrative structure. It is just several weeks in the life of a Witness for the Dead, which is kind of a half priest half detective government position. The book has very loose ties to Goblin Emperor, and is a quicker read if you just want to taste what Addison offers.That's interesting. I like Goblin Emperor but I didnt feel compelled to read the other books, maybe because reading another full book seemed a bit tiresome. Something with an atypical narrative, and/or closer to novella size, sounds like something I might consider for some future day.
Lora Selezh is just a short story prelude of sorts to Witness. It gives an outisder perspective to the Witness 1st person narrator, which was interesting. That character's view of himself seems to be at odds to how others in Witness see him, but we never get outside his pov within that book. It's a nice little story, and yes, i'm padding my numbers. These Addison books all have a very wholesome feel to them that is absent from much of modern fantasy.
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News/Announcements / Re: Second Apocalypse Discord Server [Yes, we have one!]
« on: February 04, 2023, 03:05:27 am »
For posterity, yes its still active as of today 
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Author Q&A / Re: The Rape of Omindalea
« on: February 04, 2023, 03:04:39 am »Hold up, did this entry exist in the published books? I can't find it in any of my Kindle copies.IIRC you can do a search for the names and one or two appear in the series, as an individual entry in a glossary it never made it into the series...
That seems like something that could be updated. I certainly would like to know more about this considering the implications of potential Nonman/Human mixing going on.
This is indeed not in the books and never was in any published versions, at least to my knowledge, so the canonicity of the event is moot.Not really moot:
I had no idea it was removed! I'll have to investigate...
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News/Announcements / Re: Any news or updates from Bakker?
« on: February 04, 2023, 03:03:11 am »
Yup, no news since then.
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Literature / Yearly Reading Targets 2023
« on: January 02, 2023, 01:32:23 am »
2023... Go read a book or something. 
16 last year, seems low and I'm not really sure what to do about it. Motivation to read has not been high but hopefully I'll find something that catches my eye.
Holdouts from last year:
Startide Rising by David Brin
Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
Dune by Herbert
Someone mentioned Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
16 last year, seems low and I'm not really sure what to do about it. Motivation to read has not been high but hopefully I'll find something that catches my eye.
Holdouts from last year:
Startide Rising by David Brin
Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter
Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
Dune by Herbert
Someone mentioned Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
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General Q&A / Re: Second Apocalypse and Philosophy
« on: December 18, 2022, 06:01:22 pm »
People do still read things here, if less frequently than a few years ago. Unfortunately I'm not much of a philosophy buff so I can't really direct the conversation further. I do appreciate the words, nice to read you.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: December 11, 2022, 11:04:51 pm »
That's a fair assessment. The barbarians definitely had magic but it was tangential to the story and didn't really affect anything. A Brightness Long Ago was the same (though better written). Certainly Tigana was the only one of the three that had magic which was central to the plot.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: December 06, 2022, 01:57:04 pm »
I missed a few
September:
1) Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Great book. I enjoy Muir's prose and story telling. Its often silly, and in places overwrought, but that's really just part of the charm. A definite must read if you're following along in Locked Tomb.
2) Among Others by Jo Walton
This was just OK. It follows the pattern of all the Huge+Nebula winners, which is that it is quite political and generally well written but being on that shortlist is hardly enough reason for one to pick up a book. Its well written surely, but just not that entertaining. Turns out the life and times of a 14 year old welsh girl in the 70s just isn't that interesting to me. At least there are fairies, magic, and a witch, though all three are very limited.
x)Malice by John Gwynne DNF
No thanks. I got through about half but its too much a generic fantasy story without anything interesting to make it worth finishing.
Oct (15)
1) The Torch that Ignites the Stars by Andrew Rowe
Mentioned in an earlier post
2) Against All Gods by Miles Cameron
Not Cameron's best work. I like his writing, Red Knight remains a favorite, but Against All Gods just didn't work. Too many protagonists with too much plot armor to make it a compelling read.
3) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Fantasy of Manners, which I probably wouldn't have picked up if I knew that going in, and I'm glad I read it. Addison wrote a great book here, with prose dripping in courtly etiquette which helps set the scene. I will probably look for something else from her in the future.
Nov (16)
1) Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Not as good as A Brightness Long Ago, but a marked improvement in writing from Tigana, though I prefer Tigana over this (probably due to the setting and themes).
September:
1) Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Great book. I enjoy Muir's prose and story telling. Its often silly, and in places overwrought, but that's really just part of the charm. A definite must read if you're following along in Locked Tomb.
2) Among Others by Jo Walton
This was just OK. It follows the pattern of all the Huge+Nebula winners, which is that it is quite political and generally well written but being on that shortlist is hardly enough reason for one to pick up a book. Its well written surely, but just not that entertaining. Turns out the life and times of a 14 year old welsh girl in the 70s just isn't that interesting to me. At least there are fairies, magic, and a witch, though all three are very limited.
x)
No thanks. I got through about half but its too much a generic fantasy story without anything interesting to make it worth finishing.
Oct (15)
1) The Torch that Ignites the Stars by Andrew Rowe
Mentioned in an earlier post
2) Against All Gods by Miles Cameron
Not Cameron's best work. I like his writing, Red Knight remains a favorite, but Against All Gods just didn't work. Too many protagonists with too much plot armor to make it a compelling read.
3) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Fantasy of Manners, which I probably wouldn't have picked up if I knew that going in, and I'm glad I read it. Addison wrote a great book here, with prose dripping in courtly etiquette which helps set the scene. I will probably look for something else from her in the future.
Nov (16)
1) Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Not as good as A Brightness Long Ago, but a marked improvement in writing from Tigana, though I prefer Tigana over this (probably due to the setting and themes).
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: October 11, 2022, 11:16:55 pm »
The Torch that Ignites the Stars by Andrew Rowe (12)
An amusing, quick read, but not really something I can recommend. Rowe as some modest talent but is by no stretch a great author. These books are "litrpgs", which basically means they are closer to watching someone play a videogame than reading a a traditional book, while still being full of genre tropes. Despite this, I find them entertaining when I'm in the right mood and this book delivered exactly as expected.
An amusing, quick read, but not really something I can recommend. Rowe as some modest talent but is by no stretch a great author. These books are "litrpgs", which basically means they are closer to watching someone play a videogame than reading a a traditional book, while still being full of genre tropes. Despite this, I find them entertaining when I'm in the right mood and this book delivered exactly as expected.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: September 26, 2022, 02:20:41 pm »
Among Others by Jo Walton (11)
This book was great, but I didn't actually enjoy it. The writing was easy get lost in, but the story itself just wasn't that appealing. The life and times of a Welsh14 year old in 70's England just never hooked me, but despite that I still wanted to read it to the end. There are some well imagined fantasy elements, including magic and magical creatures, and it is something of a love letter to the genre as a whole as much time is spent discussing many well-known names in the SFF genre at the time.
This book was great, but I didn't actually enjoy it. The writing was easy get lost in, but the story itself just wasn't that appealing. The life and times of a Welsh14 year old in 70's England just never hooked me, but despite that I still wanted to read it to the end. There are some well imagined fantasy elements, including magic and magical creatures, and it is something of a love letter to the genre as a whole as much time is spent discussing many well-known names in the SFF genre at the time.
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News/Announcements / Re: Blog Post from Bryan Bakker (03 June 2022)
« on: July 22, 2022, 03:08:02 pm »
Life ebbs and flows. Maybe once he's empty-nesting in a dozen years or so he'll be getting bored and will start writing again.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: July 06, 2022, 12:09:27 pm »
She deserves to be on a great many lists because the prose is interesting to read. Leaning towards purple, but it fits her fantasy settings. Its possible I was just not in the mood for this type of book, because its not substantially different plot-wise than Od Magic, meaning it has a relatively generic plot with predictable outcomes that are not at all the focus of the story. This is definitely something to be aware of when picking up any McKilip, but not necessarily a demerit. Forgotten Beasts specifically didn't do it for me though. It uses a lot of magical/fantasy animals and/or animal tropes, which is also something I've never been too interested in either.
I'd still recommend Od Magic to anyone who reads fantasy. The internet is full of requests for fantasy with "good writing", and while that means a lot of different things to different people Od Magic is probably a good recommendation most of the time.
I'd still recommend Od Magic to anyone who reads fantasy. The internet is full of requests for fantasy with "good writing", and while that means a lot of different things to different people Od Magic is probably a good recommendation most of the time.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: July 01, 2022, 01:22:25 pm »
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (10)
Meh. This was recommended along side her more widely read Od Magic, and I am very glad I read Od Magic first. This one didn't have nearly the same spark of wistful fantasy. Largely about a witch who could talk to magical animals, the concept was entertaining but it wasn't enough to make a whole book out of. Despite being pretty short, it still seemed to drag. Honestly the whole thing could have been a short story, maybe a novella, with just the first two chapters, one in the middle, and the last one. Instead it goes on for about 12, and that's just too many to get the point across. Pretty disappointed with this one, considering how whimsical and satisfying Od Magic was. If you want to try McKillip, because she does have great prose, I'd avoid this one.
Meh. This was recommended along side her more widely read Od Magic, and I am very glad I read Od Magic first. This one didn't have nearly the same spark of wistful fantasy. Largely about a witch who could talk to magical animals, the concept was entertaining but it wasn't enough to make a whole book out of. Despite being pretty short, it still seemed to drag. Honestly the whole thing could have been a short story, maybe a novella, with just the first two chapters, one in the middle, and the last one. Instead it goes on for about 12, and that's just too many to get the point across. Pretty disappointed with this one, considering how whimsical and satisfying Od Magic was. If you want to try McKillip, because she does have great prose, I'd avoid this one.
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Literature / Re: Yearly Reading Targets 2022
« on: June 27, 2022, 01:45:00 pm »
Always a shame when that happens. It does make me slightly more sympathetic towards publishers wanting/expecting new authors to show up with complete series now, with the drop in quality so apparent for second books I can really see why. I'm sure a better publisher with better editors and support for authors would help workshop a lot of those issues away, but obviously this doesn't happen.
