I haven’t read the series, but every time I saw a mention of it or saw the books in a bookstore, I made myself think that “Discoworld” was what my eyes were seeing.
I always wondered what it had to do with a disco. Will there be some dancing? Will it be a big party? Sadly, I shall never know, for it is no disco at all, after all.
That completely ruined my mood. I’m such an idiot.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT IT’S DISCWORLD! IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE A BIG DISCO! Nevermind. I’ll try to get through the shock.
I just finished the third book in the Tawny Man trilogy - the 3rd trilogy in Robin Hobb’s overarching Realm of the Elderlings series of books. And my god, they are absolutely incredible. I feel like I’ve been put through a meat grinder of emotional pain and trauma and can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of melancholy and sadness.
Hobb truly is a master at her craft and I’m tempted to put her alongside masters such as Tolkien, Peake, Wolfe, Le Guin and GRRM as one of the best to ever do it in this genre.
What Hobb really does better than almost anyone in the genre are the characters. They’re so well-developed, so complex and real in their humanity, that I feel like they could exist in our world. And that’s what makes all the horrible things that happen to them all that much harder to bear.
Because yeah - the reputation these books have of being bleak and emotionally damaging holds true. There’s a lot - a lot - of Really Bad Things that our protagonists go through throughout …
I don’t hear much about the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman on this sub and wondering what others thought about it. I recently read the first book of Harry Potter and the Hunger Games for the first time and thought they were both pretty bland. I went into the Golden Compass expecting to have a similar reaction. I found the Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights) to follow a pretty tried and true Hero’s Journey quest structure but it had a bunch of edgy world features that made it far more interesting than those other popular books. I’ve only read the first book so far, but here are a few details that I noticed and appreciated:
I read these books for the first time last year. I kind of wish I read them when I was younger (in my 30s now), but they are still excellent books. The more I think about them, the more I appreciate them. After I finished, I discovered that Daphne Press (Illumicrate) had a special edition printed with a cover illustration by Tommy Arnold.
This made me realize that there are so many amazing moments in this series that are ripe for some truly awesome illustrations. I started hunting around for illustrations and fan art. I found some neat ones (like the Abhorsen house on the Old Kingdom wiki) and a good number of portraits of characters, but very few that depicted any of the actual events from the books.
As a collector of small press books, I really hope that someone takes up the task of producing some beautifully illustrated editions of these books.
What scene would you love to see illustrated? (Potential spoilers, naturally.)
EDIT: In terms of illustration style, I think I’m …
Image description: Illustrative cover of “How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying” by Django Wexler featuring a yellow and white typography of the title and a simple, colorblocked illustration of the Dark Lord character.
Have You Been to the Library Lately?
Librarians once worried about shushing patrons. Now they have to deal with mental health episodes, the homelessness crisis, and random violence.
After seeing worrying stories in this sub about some places banning LGBTQIA+ material and the ever-increasing transphobia in politics and the news, I decided to do what I could to fight back against all the hate.
My latest display in my library is dedicated to celebrating people in all their diversity and I did a great deal of research and worked with queer colleagues, family and friends to select both fiction and non-fiction works written by queer writers, icons and allies.
I’ve had some books taken from it already and a few customers have said it’s great and brings much-needed colour to the library.
I know I’m luckier than other libraries in that I can do create and be supported in making this stand, but if it means that people can see and celebrate Pride, then I’ll do what I can. ✊
Edit: cheers to the person who reported me to reddit’s suicide watch account. It’s appreciated but not necessary.
Edit 2: to anyone saying to ‘leave the kids …
I was planning to watch the movie, but I’m really glad I stuck to the book. The plot isn’t too far, but the characters feel really different. In the movie, Sophie is already portrayed as a brave woman, but in the book, she is as tough as nails. Howl is depicted as a mix of a horny teenager and Dumbledore, which made the reading experience really enjoyable. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel later on.
I’ve just finished Roadmarks. I only picked it up because it was one of the very few SF Masterworks titles available at my local bookstore, but holy shit, I loved it. The various quirky characters that are tied together in strange ways; the sparse, concise yet effective prose; the mythological and literary allusions that are fun easter-eggs if you get them but don’t detract from the enjoyment of the story otherwise. Such a delightful road-trip through time.
I want more! What other Zelazny’s books should I check out? Lord of Light, I suppose? Any other suggestions?
Just finished the The Culture series and I thought to write down my impressions for each book, shortly. All in all, a very nice series for SF lovers with a lot of interesting topics.
I read them in the publishing order so here we go:
Stuff like Mass Effect, sort of the military sci fi with aliens. Hyperion and Star Trek I already have on my lists but I was hoping to get more.
I love when I’m reading a story that’s so good I can’t stop thinking about getting back to it while I go about my day.
Been a while since I found something that fits this description. What’s the last book that did this for you?
I’m looking for books that are similar to the Alien franchise in terms of atmosphere and vibe/aesthetic. Something scifi with themes of isolation and some kind of alien threat that hunts the main cast down.
Another thing I love about Alien was the hints of something greater. The mystery of the giant shipwreck, the space jockey, and what the Xenomorph actually was just really intrigued me. So books that have something comparable to all this would be really cool.
A final point: I’d appreciate if it got a “happy” ending, even if that just means that one person survives the incident and get’s to live. I guess I’d also call this in line with the alien films, or at least the first two (only ones I’ve seen).
If there’s any novels like that out there, I’d love to find and read them.
The Truman Show secretly recorded almost everything Truman did in his entire life. The character Meryl/ Hannah acting as Truman’s wife, does that mean she has to do anything as a wife of him even… make love if he want to ? And the show will record all of that ? Or they gonna find a excuse for her not do that with Truman ?