Seems in the absolute legend that was Kevin Conroy has passed from cancer. Farewell the guy who invented the dual voice trend for Batman and was, by all accounts I’ve ever seen, one of the nicest folks in the business. You will be missed.
https://gizmodo.com/kevin-conroy-dead-obituary-batman-dc-comics-rip-1849772917
As the title says
I recent finished the first book and enjoyed it. I thought there was a lot of fun Potential and I love the urban fantasy implementation and can see it becoming incredibly fascinating. I had two issues with the book as a whole. The lesser one was predictability. None of the “twists” surprised me, and I figured out almost the entire thing a little after the halfway point. My big issue was the sheer amount of time devoted to talking about women’s bodies. I have nothing against a good description and getting across what you need to, but the descriptions just kept going. Does this get better with the later books? I am on fence about continuing due to how hard I was cringing with each new female introduced in a sexual way and how hard it pulled me out of the story
EDIT: Reading these comments has been fascinating and helped me make my mind up. I won’t be continuing with this series :( There are plenty of other books I can read that won’t cause me to have to ask this question. If you like …
The things I love most about stereotypically ‘British sensibilities’ are the DRY wit, the self-deprecating humour, and the appreciation for wordplay. Also, the Brits seem to prefer relatable, everyman protagonists rather than larger-than-life heroes.
Which author best exemplifies these qualities? What other stereotypically British traits do you enjoy in writing?
[It goes without saying, but this post is meant for fun. Let’s keep this discussion positive and not turn it into mean-spirited jabs at British people or culture]
EDIT: Wow, I was not expecting this post to become as popular as it has. I guess people really enjoy those British sensibilities! I appreciate all the suggestions; I’ve definitely picked up a few new-to-me authors to add to my TBR (surprised at how often Michael Moorcock’s name came up in this discussion).
One of my favorite fantasy novels is Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green. In this novel the MC who is a prince goes to fight a dragon for honor but finds out that the dragon likes to collect butterflies and has no interest in fighting anyone. Also the dragon begs him to take away the bad-tempered princess whose parents have brought to the dragon as an sacrifice. It was quite funny and interesting. I’m looking for something like that. Male MC is preferred. Thanks.
For me, it’s The Rainbow Fish. The book is supposed to be about the merits of sharing, but I think the rainbow fish was fair to not want to give away his scales to anyone who asked for one. The books intended message is that vanity and selfishness is bad, but I don’t think that quite comes across. I think the book sends the message that setting boundaries is selfish and that you have to do anything anyone wants in order to be a good friend.
Edit: I appreciate the comments about how The Rainbow Fish needs to be read with the context of child development in mind
for not investing in an e-reader sooner. I was too busy thinking physical books were superior and I loved the idea of displaying my books on a shelf. I also thought e-readers do not give the same experience but guess what… my wallet is happier and I no longer have to carry a book around to take up space in my bag. Also, my shelves will be less cluttered (when I donate the rest of my books).
I’ve written three novels — each one darker and meaner than the next. My novels (and my love of movies) led me into screenwriting, first for David Fincher’s adaptation of my own Gone Girl and the HBO limited series of Sharp Objects, then the Viola Davis thriller WIDOWS, and most recently Amazon Prime’s series UTOPIA, which I created and wrote.
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and now live in Chicago, and the Midwest is where most of my stuff is set. (The Midwest is much weirder and creepier than it gets credit for). I drink a lot of coffee and chew stale Dubble Bubble when I write. I’m happy to answer questions about reading, writing, or pretty much anything else. I’ll be back at 2pm CST to start answering questions…
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Details and preorders for the first release from my imprint GILLIAN FLYNN BOOKS, SCORCHED GRACE are available at this link.
I only started reading sci-fi/fantasy a couple years ago at age 40. The kids were forced into remote learning that year, so I quit most things to stay home, and started reading sci-fi (and even writing a bit too). It’s been a dream come true, and eye opening, and … overwhelming. I feel like I’m in a constant state of catch-up. I’m just curious, when did folks start to read sci-fi? And what initially provoked your interest in it, and, bonus question, what has kept you reading (or what remarkable works have you read recently)?
For me, it’s 40yo, Cixin Liu’s mind blowing Three Body Problem series, & recently I’ve been devouring Ursula LeGuin and Jeff Vandermeer like famished astrophage
Published in 1985, this book is a pretty entertaining read and I want to recommend it here so more people can enjoy it.
Without spoiling anything, this is the setting: The protagonist is a smart man, a problem solver (The Martian & Project Hail Mary). He is stranded in an unusual, interesting and hostile planet (The Martian), thankfully he wears a practically indestructible, state of the art armor for protection (Armor).
That may not be a masterpiece, but is an imaginative book and is an easy read. ~280 pages long.
It has a 4.0/5.0 score in goodreads, and 4.6⁄5.0 in amazon, here are the links if you want to check more reviews before deciding:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35136.Sentenced_to_Prism
https://www.amazon.com/Sentenced-Prism-Alan-Dean-Foster/dp/034531980X
It looks like a part of a long series but don’t worry, it is a standalone book.
I’ve noticed that quite a few of the books I’ve read recently have had either lesbian or female bisexual characters as protagonists, but can think of hardly any with other LGBTQIA+ characters, in particular a dearth of gay men. Is this an actual trend in (non-independent) publishing, or just a coincidence?
I don’t think the trend observed in my own reading list is a result of selection bias - I can only think of one example from the books I’ve read where the blurb has advertised that the protagonist was a lesbian (that was Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky). However I know that there are authors out there writing about LGBTQIA+ characters (my wife loves TJ Klune’s books who’s written a few books with gay men in leading roles) which I haven’t read, but more because the premise appealed to me less without knowing anything about the characters.
If this is a wider trend in publishing, is it because lesbians are seen as “safer” by …
Hello!
First of all, I’m know I’m asking for something weird, but bear with me. I’ve always enjoyed the little fictional-to-real tiny connections in sci-fi and fantasy novels. What comes to my mind is, for example, the way the muggle minister gets a message from the Minister of Magic and that sort of thing.
From JK Rowling’s The Half-Blood Prince:
It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. He was waiting for a call from the President of a far distant country, and between wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult week, there was not much space in his head for anything else. The more he attempted to focus on the print on the page before him, the more clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of one of …
I read The Machine Stops by EM Forster months ago and I still think about it. It’s a story published in 1909 that accurately, eerily described a lot of modern life, to the point where if you don’t know when it was published, you’d think it’s the most obvious, clunky satire. That got me thinking: What’s the modern equivalent that is most likely to describe future life, whether that’s in a decade or ten?
In another thread I was discussing great audiobooks where the narrator performs, rather than reads the work. Where the narrator elevates the work. I largely consume SF via audiobook and I’m always on the lookout for more great ones. As examples:
Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R Free.
The Ninth series by Tamsyn Muir, read by Moira Quirk (if Nona charmed you on the page, she is performed to perfection in the book)
Dennis Kunsken, Quantum Magician trilogy, read by T Ryder Smith (this one took a moment for the narrator to find his stride, but when he does, it hits)
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke, read by Chiwetel Ejiofor
Truth of the Divine, by Lindsey Ellis, read by Abigail Thorn, Kaveh Teherian, Stephanie Willis (there are highs and lows, but the highs are great)
What else is great?
(Apologies if this is the wrong channel—the title is printsf, but the channel description is published, not printed.)