I definitely didn’t anticipate both of them being so bad that they’d pretty much both instantly disappear from cultural relevance and have no discussion about them lol. I don’t understand how these studios can mess up established IPs so badly. Same thing is going on with the Witcher now. If they want to tell an unrelated story, why do it with an established IP? Make something new. At least you won’t alienate fans of the series. It’s just baffling.
Hello all, and welcome to the 2022 Holiday MegaSale brought to you by Wraithmarked Creative!
This year the sale will once again be a charity event to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital!
Each of our nearly 175 participating authors has agreed to donate at least $0.01 per book they sell or give away!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the organization, St. Jude’s mission statement reads as follows:
The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.
So, every book you pick up helps further R&D …
Note: This is non-spoiler review.
I generally read books that are recommended by my friends. So, I start with books and authors they rave about. Some books live up to the expectation and some do not. But there are very few books that exceed expectations and this did it and how!
I came across fantasy books that have magics, knights, powers, etc but almost always feels like it is an augmentation to the middle age earth. Like we are in a “What If” scenario in the past. But reading this book is like being transferred to a completely new universe. Sanderson does a great job with world-building by giving every small detail about the world including the grass, stones, and conventions and yet nothing feels excessive or filler material. That’s probably because of how creative and unique each of these things is. Probably a poor comparison but this is similar to James Cameron’s Avatar being hit because of how unique the world is.
Also, this might be the most movie book …
Yes, I am talking about me. I’m 22 and I’ve never read one, and I want to start now. I’ve heard absolutely amazing things about both Sanderson and Rothfuss, so I was wondering if I could start with them, or if I should start with something a bit more accessible for a complete beginner.
Thanks in advance.
Edit : WOW. I’m blown away that so many people decided to hop on this thread. I was expecting 30 or 40 replies at the most. Never did I think this would get so much attention. Thank you so much to everyone who took some time out of their day to reply. I’ll go through all your recommendations and hopefully post an update soon. Once again, thank you so much.
I have read:
I’m looking for a BIG book series if possible. I often read books alongside my partner so something where we can discuss as the chapters are read would be perfect.
I started rereading The Godfather by Mario Puzo last night. I read it once about a decade ago. I remembered it wasn’t exactly well-written - even Puzo himself said he wrote below his talents because he was trying to bang the novel out for money to pay back his gambling debts - but I didn’t care, because I was looking for a breezy read after having recently finished several non-fiction books.
But… damn is the writing poor. Like, shockingly. Constant telling instead of showing. Terrible dialogue, particularly for the character of Kay. Describing who the characters are instead of showing us who they are through their actions.
I’ll still finish it because the story makes up for the writing. I felt the same way about the Crazy Rich Asians books. I actually really enjoyed those, because the story didn’t exactly demand Cormac McCarthy’s talents, even though the quality of the writing did surprise me. But, reading a book written so poorly feels sometimes …
I had zero expectations when I picked up this book, but it blew me away to outer space. Have to give it up for Andy Weir for creating a masterpiece of an interstellar voyage, with ample twists and a touching storyline.
I was slowly getting my feet wet as the book starts, but dove right in when Grace realizes he’s not in our solar system, but in a distant one. The writing is phenomenal as the protagonist pieces together his foggy past while racing against time in the present. I didn’t expect Grace would be encountering Rocky, much less collaborating with him to save humanity. It is a refreshing change from conventional novels where aliens are hostile for dramatic purposes.
I was able to relate a lot with Grace. The position that he was put in, the sacrifice he wasn’t willing to make, his unwillingness to take risks rang a lot of familiar bells in me. I was rooting for him. Felt like a wake up call. Instead of gigantic aliens, we got a tiny organism which spelt doom …
I’ve always looked forward to reading Dickens, mainly because some of my all-time favorite authors cite him as influences (Leo Tolstoy, Donna Tartt, Edgar Allan Poe, George RR Martin, Dostoevsky).
One reason I kept postponing was because every time he’s mentioned online, someone says some variation of, “Charles Dickens was paid by the word, and it shows.” After reading that for the hundredth time, I finally did a quick google search and learned that this isn’t even true.
I decided to finally start with Great Expectations and I’m so glad I did. I absolutely love the detail, the characters, his prose, how surprisingly funny it is; but what I love most about it is how unabashedly wholesome and tender it often is.
The quote that first destroyed me was towards the end of part one:
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried than before—more sorry, more aware of my own …
It was a movie about American bombers in the Second World War and the gallant men who flew them. Seen backwards by Billy, the story went like this: American planes, full of holes and wounded men and corpses took off backwards from an airfield in England. Over France a few German fighter plans flew at them backwards, sucked bullets and shell fragments from some of the planes and crewmen. They did the same for wrecked American bombers on the ground, and those planes flew up backwards to join the formation. The formation flew backwards over a German city that was in flames. The bombers opened their bomb bay doors, exerted a miraculous magnetism which shrunk the fires, gathered them into cylindrical steel containers, and lifted the containers into the bellies of the planes. The containers were stored neatly in racks. The Germans below had miraculous devices of their own, which were long steel tubes. They used them to suck more fragments from the crewmen and planes. But there were still a …
I’ve been playing Horizon Forbidden West, and one thing I really like about it and its predecessor is how things from the past (our present and future) are oftentimes misinterpreted, falsely aggrandized, disregarded, etc. The game Stray did this somewhat as well, though not as much as Horizon.
For literature, the only example I’ve read that comes to mind is the short story, “The Great God Awto” by Clark Ashton Smith, in which a future civilization reflects on mankind’s use of automobiles. But that story is from the early 1900s. Would love some modern, longer examples of the idea, especially if there’s a bit of horror and grand mystery involved.
Edit: Thanks everyone for the recommendations! Much more than I would’ve expected
Hello!
I offer my year in reading for 2022. Sci fi is still my main genre but I feel like I branched a bit this year. The Russian classics were great. I read 53 books, it wasn’t a goal but I guess I had the time haha.
Anathem was the best fiction (so good I read it twice)
The Basis for Everything was the best non-fiction
I read a bunch of trashy sci fi that were the collective worst
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the list and/or the ratings I gave them.
Cheers and happy reading in 2023!
Vorkosigan Saga (1986-2018) by Lois McMaster Bujold - 2017 Hugo Award for Best Series
I am reading all the Hugo Award Winning novels, approximately one a month, and since three of the Vorkosigan Saga are winners, I decided to read the entire Saga (or at least those leading up to said winners), sight unseen with no previous knowledge, so that I’d have proper context for the winning entries.
I had a great time reading this series and highly recommend it with caveats:
Firstly, the Vorkosigan Saga is Space Opera. I’d never read a romance novel before per se, but somewhere on the Hugo Novel Winner reading project (it was Dreamsnake actually) I discovered that I do enjoy romance with my Sci-Fi.
Secondly, it is a female written opus that does not shy away from reproductive and familial issues. In fact, she writes about them as only a woman could, and with Sci-Fi trappings.
And so… you get a main protagonist who becomes more likable as he matures (he grew on me - I …
I’ll go first. Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time is a mediocre reheating of David Brin’s Uplift series, mixed in with a heaping serving of so so original series Star Trek “bottle” episodes (Day of the Dove and By Any Other Name spring to mind).
Edit: Thanks to everyone who has posted a comment. I think this is a great exercise and I have been amused or educated by just about everyone.
I’ve read pretty much every subgenre of science fiction under the sun, but one thing i find rather strange and a bit sad is that there aren’t many or much science fiction set in a hospital or following doctors. This makes me a bit sad as someone with family members in the medical field. Where are the hard science fiction stories discussing near-future or futuristic advances in medicine? “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy”-style medical dramas on a space habitat or moon? Combat medics patching up soldiers in a MilSF story? The only book series i know addressing this side of the sciences is James White’s “Sector General” series from the 80s and 90s.
I’d like to know what stories are out there. Anyone know?
Animation? About some nerdy hardcore weird looking video game that looks like Gaunlet? Yeah, think I’ll pass. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it has its merits but it’s not my thing…
You ARE wrong, holy shit, it’s fucking incredible (excuse my foul language) I just… It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It’s like it’s from the future. I don’t really know what else to tell you but you don’t have to be into anything else but great television to love this.
Amazing characters, an unpredictable story and the direction and cinematography - whatever that’s called in the world of animation - is 10⁄10.
I know this gets great reviews but so do loads of niche things and this isn’t niche at all. Seems like it would be, but it’s not.
Watch it.
The title pretty much says it all. I think that tombstone is the best Western. Doc Holliday is one of my favorite characters out of any Western. Couple it with the fact that it’s mostly a true story, and I think it goes down as the greatest Western movie.
Does anyone agree? Does anybody have other Westerns that they think stand out above it? If I haven’t seen it I’ll make an effort to watch it.
I’m your huckleberry.
I’ve been really impressed with the roles and movies that Daniel Craig did during his role as Bond, and while he has been done with Bond for a short period, he seems to continue to be a great actor, taking on roles that are far from the type of character Bond was. Prior to this, I think Connery was the most successful post Bond, but Craig may surpass him. What do you think?
Am I wrong about how other Bonds have done? Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have done well enough, but I don’t put them at the level of either Craig or Connery, although they have staying power that should be respected.
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EDIT: Typo.
So we are sitting here watching Home Alone and trying to count the number of times they say “home alone” in the movie. This is called a “title drop”.
We are up to 5 times about halfway through.
“I love it when they say the name of the movie in the movie” - Peter Griffin
The Wet Bandits seem to say it the most.
So reddit, can you name a movie that says the title of the movie in it more times than Home Alone!?
Obviously this is going to get a lot of different answers but for my opinion I think it’s the blonde nazi in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because there is this kind of Marilyn Monroe type allure that’s just was straight up intoxicating to a younger version of myself and that was probably the closest thing to a movie crush until I saw hailee Steinfeld character in ender game which was a awakening for me at least at the time