First let me say I appreciate the difficulty of moderating a large and diverse subreddit. I get that.
Still, it’s frustrating to see topics like the recent thread about adaptations just gone.
I get that some people post in bad faith or violate subreddit rules about, you know, acting like a human… but nonetheless to say “the discussion has run its course” on a thread that has 104 comments in a sub with 3.4mm subscribers also feels disingenuous.
Is the lesson, perhaps controversially, that the sub is too large for discussion-based topics to live for long, if at all? I don’t say that with any ill-will or agenda behind it, I’m honestly curious.
EDIT As this has gone on, I’ll highlight a point that came up several times. Since things are getting locked due to poor behavior, it actually gives control of what gets discussed to those who would behave poorly. If they don’t like a topic, they can just do what they do, the thread gets locked, the …
In case you have not seen it, which I do not blame you because season 1 was not very good, season 2 of Wheel of Time is significantly better. But it has one glaring flaw. The fight scenes are terrible. They are impossible to follow. And for a very simple reason. There are way too many cuts.
I think everyone knows that the fewer cuts in fights, the better. Daredevil famously did an over 10 minute scene with no cuts. But obviously some fights require some cuts, but not to the degree you see in this show.
I’m going to pick on the fight in S02E05, Perrin and Aviendha versus whitecloaks, from 30:15 to 31:30. This fight is inherently more difficult to follow because it takes place at night time and all the whitecloaks look the same. The obvious response to these difficulties would be to do longer choreography and fewer cuts, which would make the fight easier to follow. Instead, in those 75 seconds of fighting, there are a total of 78 cuts. That means that the average frame is up …
Althea - naive and has terrible plans
Wintrow - mewling baby most of the book. Gets slightly better towards the end but I still dislike him
Malta - petulent, spoiled child
Ronica - how tf does she not know what Kyle is like before her husband dies?
Keffria - terrible taste in men, how does she not know how misogynistic her husband is?
Kennet - an asshole to pretty much everyone he meets
Brashen - woe is me ex-trader heir. Continually makes bad decisions
Good lord none of these people have redeeming features. I admire Hobb for her unique worldbuilding but the characters in this book are insufferable and the book itself suffers a lot from bloat, a huge problem in her previous book as well. It’d be nice to have one or two characters that aren’t just miserable human beings.
Of course in a perfect world a director would adapt these books perfectly but I just dont want to see cash grabby, poorly thought out versions of books i adore.
What books do you hope are never adapted?
Several decades ago my friends boyfriend walked into the shop where I worked and tossed a book into the trash on his way to his girfriend’s table. As a bookworm, I was horrified! In my mind, it was the equivalent of burning a book, so I pulled it out of the trash. He said, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever tried to read! You are welcome to it.” I thought nothing could possibly be that bad, and the very idea of wasting a book seemed almost sacrilegious.
Anyway, I brought the book home and started to read it that night. I had just barely forced myself to finish the first chapter before I threw it away as well. I forget the title, but I do remember it was a horror novel by Dean Koontz. My first and only attempt to read one of his books.
ok. i’ve been rereading a series i read a few years ago and cannot fathom the amount of times the author brings in a new character with BLUE EYES. they’re piercing. they’re bright. they’re stunning. the main character has turquoise colored eyes, believe it or not. out of all 6-10 (estimate) characters that have been introduced…get this…they ALL have blue / green eyes.
now tell me why you would feel the need to give EVERYONE and their mother blue eyes. granted, this is a fantasy series, but overall i’m simply tired of starting a book and every damn character has these stunning blue orbs. i’m sick of it honestly. maybe other genres don’t have this issue, idk. i’m a pretty avid fantasy reader so maybe this is just a genre issue.
i honestly don’t know if i can say i’ve read a book with a main character who has brown eyes, and if i have, it’s only a few out of hundreds. it’s appalling. anyways, this is my rant.
For the record, I think everyone’s allowed to interpret a piece of literature however they want. I’m pro-death-of-the-author. Whatever meaning you derive from a story is valid especially if you can back it up with textual support. That being said, are there any common interpretations of a story that you just don’t agree with or go against how you interpret the story?
My example is from a play, not a book, but I don’t like the interpretation of Romeo and Juliet that “it’s not a love story; it’s a cautionary tale about two stupid teenagers making rash decisions” because I feel like that ignores so much of the text & themes about reconciliation and pride-driven violence. Like, yes by our modern standards, the kids jumped into their marriage pretty quickly but
I’m watching The Last of Us and really like the scenes where they’re walking through cities with half collapsed skyscrapers that are covered in plants and nature taking the world back.
Are there any post-apocalyptic books that have that part but no zombies or reavers, raiders, etc.?
The closest I’ve ever read, I think, is “The Old Man and the Wasteland” by Nick Cole, which I don’t think has a wide readership. But that still has raiders, I think (it’s been a while).
Kinda like Stephen King’s “The Stand” but without the disease?
Thanks!
I recently really got into hard sci-fi with Greg Egan and KSR and wanted to make a list of readings based on your favorite novels or series.
Thank you in advance, you’re all beautiful.
I just read “A fire upon the deep” by Vernor Vinge and it touches on this theme a little, but it’s not quite what I mean.
Basically I’m looking for something that calls humanity out on its bullshit, aka failing to meet standards for a “real” species, as seen by aliens. This can be our reliance on primitive instincts and superstitions, rudderless management of our society / planet / evolution, or anything else, whether we would consider it reasonable criticism or not.
Edit: humanity simply being on the low end of the intelligence scale and aliens questioning whether we will ever, or should ever, reach higher tech also qualifies, as long as it’s a major theme.
I’d never acquired a palate for cyberpunk. But I have to admit, I really enjoyed Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill. It has greatly tempered my stubborn avoidance of the genre. Refreshing read!
Has anyone read the prequel, Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill? What did you think? The reviews were not as kind to Day Zero relatively. But I am still considering diving in.
Edit: NOT cyberpunk. I stand corrected.
So in most works of science fiction that feature aliens, the aliens can understand and speak an Earth language like English. Sometimes the creators justify this by stating that the aliens possess a universal translator or they have been listening to our tv and radio transmissions. Unfortunately, neither of these options are scientifically possible. A universal translator isn’t feasible in deciphering new languages, especially alien ones. And contrary to popular belief tv and radio transmissions decompose into static after traveling over one-two lightyears. Unless an alien vessel is on the edge of our solar system or in it I doubt they will be able to intercept these transmissions without us detecting them, unless they have some way to avoid detection.
In any case what are the best works of science fiction that show how aliens and humans can realistically bridge the communication gap?
Bonus if they the alien language is unique and averts the following tropes:
• …
I love Bank’s The Hydrogen Sonata (Culture book 10), and one of the reasons is because of the AI named the Mistake Not…. There’s lots of great scenes but one that sticks with me is when it’s just playfully lolling around riding in the solar winds. I love how it’s delighting in the wonder of the world in a way that is similar to humanity but in a manner that we know is not limited to us. It makes me think about being playful as a universal characteristic.
That’s its shorthand name, the full name is amazing but a bit of a spoiler as you don’t find out until late in the book. It’s the >!Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath!<
I find it very disappointing how Disney, one of the biggest names in animation, seems to be straying away from the very medium that made them a household name in the first place.
I mean, we all know how they just can’t stop making those godforsaken live-action remakes from Cinderella to The Little Mermaid and now, were gonna have Snow White, which has faced nothing but backlash thanks to the comments of the star Rachel Zegler, and now Bambi.
But lately, it seems that even for original projects, especially book adaptations and original shows for Disney+, they have to make it into live-action when they have good potential for animation. Whether it be Percy Jackson to The Mysterious Benedict Society to their upcoming Eragon reboot, it’s always live-action.
It’s just so tiring and even soulless how, instead of creating more original animated content for their streaming platform, it’s always live-action, like their movies nowadays, and it’s really sad. …