Sometimes, things suck. Yes, Sanderson, this is true. And unfortunately that seems to be the trend for his most recent books.

I’ve been a diehard Sanderson fan for about 10 years now. I’ve read every single thing he’s written and enjoyed to loved almost everything, with only a tiny minority of books that I didn’t like (looking at you Frugal Wizard). For a long time, I considered him to be my favorite author and I thought he could do (almost) do no wrong. But man, I have been really disappointed with his most recent offerings. Wind and Truth, while still decent, had more flaws than every other Stormlight book combined. I had a ton of issues with Isles of the Emberdark. And now The Fires of December joins the same ranks for, crazily enough, many of the same reasons that I griped about those other books.

Let’s address the fundamental issue I have here before addressing the specific issues I have with this book: I hate that the Cosmere has been feeling more …

Here’s a regular pet peeve: bales of hay in a medieval economy. People in the mechanised west have no idea how much machinery is required to produce a bale of hay. Serious amounts of internal combustion engines. There were experimental bales being produced using steam-operated machinery in the very late 19th century, but widespread use of baled hay didn’t become common until the onset of ICE tractors and machinery in the early 20th.

But I’ve lost count of the number of novels set in a medieval tech world in which the hero goes to the stable and finds baled hay. It’s become such a ubiquitous symbol of rurality. But before about 1915, this never happened. Hay never travelled more than about half a mile from where it was cut, and when it did, it travelled loose. In bundles or forkfuls. It’d have been kept in hayracks (hayricks) often in the very fields where it was cut. And traveled forked loosely into wagons.

But a bale of hay is now such a ubiquitous …

Like, you were already pretty invested, but then something happened that instantly killed your interest. If so, what book/series was it, and what specifically gave you the ick?

For me, I’m about 60% through Dust of Dreams, Book 9 of Malazan, and last night I realized I just have little to no interest in the book or the series anymore. I think what finally did it for me was all the philosophizing. At this point, it feels like it’s being shoved down my throat.

I need my philosophy/themes to be snuck into the text, like you would sneak medication in a piece of cheese to a dog lol

So, after reading Heroes Die by Matthew Stover, I fell in love with the action and the way he describes the fight scenes. It made me wonder what other fantasy books have epic duels that can match or even surpass Stover’s book.
Which ones have you read that had your heart pounding and the stakes at the highest level? Did the villain win, or maybe multiple duels between different characters throughout the story.

Call me a snob but due to horrible past experiences with new authors I tend to keep my expectations low when starting a book but I must say this book has somewhat surpassed my expectations.

A world where being queer is normal, deadly plants, a sea wall to keep out the Beast and a somewhat well structured bureaucracy to keep the Imperial kingdom running.

Good pathos , the ecentric Ana and the shy Din make a killer combo and some occational comedy.

Good writing which feels like an imperfect unfinished painting.

What i would love to see more:

More of gentry , the part where Din goes into Haza estate was my one my fav parts, loved Fayazi Haza.

Hopefully, will get to know more about Ana s origins.

I’ll go first with a few of mine.

• Daisey Jones and the Six - “*Its badly written fanfiction about a lame band!*” I enjoyed the structure of a faux oral history and the attention The structure and interview style format of the book really lends itself to a full cast reading which, luckily, it got on Audible. It’s peppered with tasteful references to the 60’s and 70’s music scene. And it’s clear the author did her research in writing the character of Billy because she uses a paraphrased line from Bruce Springsteen’s memoir about how bands don’t work well as democracies. I also appreciate the characters of Daisey, Camilla and the keyboardist whose played by Judy Greer in the audiobook. They all feel like real, distinct people. Each with their own sets of likes, dislikes and goals. Even Camilla, who, out of all the characters, was at the most risk of being either a cardboard cutout, a harpy or a passive tradwife waiting for her man to get back from tour.

• The Silent Patient - “Anyone …

So I love reading writers who have unusual worldviews. Among science fiction I can think of 2 writers like these

Philip K. Dick with his paranoia mixed with spiritual psychosis.

Olaf Stapledon with his cosmic philosophy influenced by Spinoza and mixed with transhumanism.

In both of them their worldviews are of major influence on their writing. What are other examples of this?

Book number one of a seven book space opera military science fiction series plus a couple of short stories. I reread the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Tor back in 2005 that I bought from Amazon in 2010. I own all of the succeeding books and plan to reread them also plus the new book in the series. BTW, this series was just awarded the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Series, a very legitimate award in my opinion. The book was nominated for the Best Novel in the 2006 Hugo Awards also. And the book won the 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Scalzi is the master of the opening statement for his books. This one is excellent. “John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.”

From my 2010 review, “Heinlein would be proud”.

“If you like Starship Troopers, A Matter for Men, and books about the Honorverse (you know who you are), you will love this. Another book that I …

I started reading last night and it put me in the Halloween mood. Each chapter is one day on the October calendar and the story is narrated by a dog. I wanted to take a minute to recommend.

Has anyone else read this one? I stumbled on it by accident. An extremely strange book, written in a different language (based on British English), set thousands of years after a nuclear apocalypse. It’s like if Book of the New Sun had a baby with A Clockwork Orange.

For the past 2–3 years, I’ve been getting really into sci-fi and fantasy. The problem is that I’m extremely fickle when it comes to reading, so I keep starting new series without ever fully committing to one. I still haven’t found a series that completely satisfies what I’m looking for.

What I’m really looking for is a vast, galaxy-spanning space opera. I want the universe to have many different alien races and civilizations, and I want to see them interacting, competing, and fighting each other. I’ve enjoyed Wayfarers and Old Man’s War, but I’m looking for something with a more serious tone.

I guess the easiest way to describe it would be: “What if ASOIAF had a bunch of different alien species instead of human kingdoms?”

I want to become attached to the characters, genuinely worry about what happens to them, and be absolutely desperate to find out what happens in the next chapter. I want the kind of power-scaling discussions you get with ASOIAF—like wondering who the strongest …

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/coyote-vs-acme-crosses-100-million-marketing-campaign-explained/

With more than $100 million worldwide, “Coyote vs. Acme” has eclipsed major films like Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic drama “The Dog Stars” (which brought in just $38 million worldwide) and could best the gross of Amazon MGM Studios’ “Masters of the Universe” ($114 million). Not too shabby for a movie that – in the eyes of Warner Bros. – didn’t warrant a release at all.

And the sky is the limit with “Coyote vs. Acme,” as the movie begins the next phase of its release, at least domestically – it will appear on digital beginning on Sept. 29, with physical media releases and streaming debuts in the next few months. There’s also the potential for the movie to campaign in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category (it has enough animated bits to qualify).

19 years ago I watched Superbad with my best friends when it first came out. At the time we just thought it was fucking hilarious.

Just rewatched it and it hits completely different now.

Me and my best friends basically went through the same thing. We ended up at different colleges, still tried to meet up whenever we could for the first couple of years, then eventually everyone just went our separate ways. No falling out or anything. Just life.

I never really thought much about the ending back then. Now watching Seth and Evan knowing they’re about to go their separate ways, that shit hits.

It’s crazy how well Superbad captured that exact point in life where you and your best friends are still doing the same stupid shit you’ve always done, without really realising that everything is about to change.