Chatterbox: Literature Edition

The Disappearing Spoon: it is meant to be a comedic book, but I found it is a bit unsetting to talk about a scientist's attempt to save his family from the Holocaust, a mass suicide involving a cult based on Neo Nazi beliefs, and NASA's manslaughter using the same tone. Otherwise it's a good book.

Random question.

Is there any speculative fiction about a man who can kill everything?

It's hard to call them 'literature', but do Tsukihime and Kara no Kyoukai count?

Uhhh...well, I played and read both of them, and not quite sure if they are the thing I'm looking for.

I got a story about a character who spent centuries spent centuries travelling around the world and learning everything there was to know about killing everything that could be killed, human, beasts, monsters, spirits, lesser gods, etc. And I couldn't help but feeling that somebody already wrote something like that.

Completely unlike what you were actually looking for, but I will recommend Zotz by Walter Karig. It's about a man who gains the power to kill anything, and his struggles to find a use for it that he can live with.

Reading the new The Lost Stars book, I have to think that Roh Morgan is basically Black Widow s Skills, Lanfears crazy stalker tendencies and Morgana's narrative role, rolled in one package.

Which is kinda impressive in a way. Not that I want to be within a parsec of her.

edited 14th Oct '14 2:41:29 PM by 3of4

Between the Shades of Gray is set to have a movie.

Because of the book's subject I am not sure how well they are going to handle it. The characters witness blood, rape, and violence straight on. You can't cover it like Katniss did. Anything less than a R rating will lessen the emotional impact of the novel.

Why is "they had an odd (or strange) look" such a commonly used phrase in books? It's not very descriptive, it could literally mean anything. Which I guess is "mysterious" but uh...

I mean, it's kind of indicative of the same sort of ambiguous confusion as the reader feels being present between the two characters exchanging the weird look, if that helps at all.

Hi five! Another fan!

We are few, but we exist

I'm reading Caliban's War, book 2 of The Expanse. It's pretty good! Lots of political manoeuvring and rocketing around hard-sci-fi space. Also, the Indian UN lady is pretty awesome.

Why do people hate mixed metaphors? I think they're hilarious. Like, rocket surgeon? Pure genius.

I'm currently reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World, but I might drop it....

I quite agree! But of course poetry is the apple in the eye of the beholder.

Just finished the Cuckoo's Calling. It's pretty okay and the mystery is quite well-done. It did a good job of making certain characters human and can be sympathized with despite their elitist point of view, or their selfishness, or their bitter dislike towards an individual. Still, Strike didn't quite left an impression. Although his developing relationship with Robin is sugary, it felt like his relationship with his ex, and Robin's relationship with her fiancee, was not properly resolved.

A book I recently read that really impressed me was A Face Like Glass. The true delicacies and fairy-tale-like magic of Caverna was done really well to illustrate the twisty world. I found the concept of Faces really fascinating, although they never really elaborated why people from Caverna was odd in that regard. The plot was satisfactory and the characters very likable. It did take a while before the plot really gets moving, and the final confrontation's unfolding I successfully predicted from a mile away. Still, it didn't make it any less satisfying.

Just finished King of Thorns. Excellent book. Much better than its predecessor, which was already pretty good. The main character gained a lot more depth, as did the world. The non-linear storytelling was also a nice step up.

I'm currently reading The Bone Flower Queen by TL Morganfield. It's really good. It's the sequel to The Bone Flower Throne, which I haven't read, but I find it easy to follow. It's set in 10th century Mexico, about the Toltec culture (which may or may not have actually existed). It's very good. Really well-written. The protagonist has a definite edge that makes her easy to like. I'm enjoying the book a lot.

Started The Big Sleep today (amusingly enough, due to staying up too late, I started nodding off while reading it). I'm a few chapters in, but I'm really digging Chandler's style.

I realised my reading list was frightfully slow, so I've started doing marathons during the break.

Finished The Magicians Trilogy (Grossman). Finished Riyria. Doing The First law, currently on book 4. Did the two two new Sanderson Books that came out. After that I'll hit Mark Lawrence.

Any recommends? Looking for a nice trilogy I might have missed.

You hit pretty much all my latest reads there.

Just taking a sounding, but midway in, how do you folks feel about the literature of the '10s? Especially as compared to the offerings of the 90's and the 00's?

Scifi feels weird to me now, standing in 2015, where are my damn robots?

Fantasy seems to have cleaned it's act up, stuff is more tighter now.

Currently reading The Jungle in the unexpurgated version. Glad I missed this one in high school because it is depresssing as all get out.

Started reading E.M. Forster's Maurice on Tuesday. Only a chapter in but I like it so far.

Finished The Broom of the System recently; not all I expected from it. Justified, considering it's DFW's first book. I'd been spoiled, having listened to a lot of his interviews and short stories; still not that bad of a novel, but a bit too meandering for my taste. Hoping Infinite Jest is better! (probably will be)

Just started Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. Forty pages in, and digging it! Can't wait for more!