This is a place where I talk about Books and other things I love. I have a specific love for Science Fiction especially older material, but I also love many other Genres. I talk about these things plus much more here and on my blog.
Thanks, I'd not done one for a while so new chances were not many people around but just wanted to get back into the flow of talking nonesense to myself.
That artwork is insane 😍 We’ll have to put our heads together and give the people what they have not asked for but will get anyway 😆. I can probably record this weekend mate 👍
Thanks for the tag: I did this one a while back but enjoyed your choices. The Norman Wisdom/Albania always makes me smile, but I feel sorry for them that this was their height of comedy (and their view of the UK)…
The section with the living city, I've discovered, was originally its own short story. Before I even read Dimension of Miracles, I picked up an old copy of Galaxy Magazine that contained Sheckley's City of Dreams, Feet of Clay. I didn't read it until after I then got through Dimension of Miracles, and found it to be essentially identical, save for the introduction, which instead involved Carmody deciding to move there. I think it works better in the new context, where Carmody's immediate distaste for the city's antics makes more sense.
Always been curious about the Dorsai books. Oddly I've never seen Stalker either. Loved the Fletch books. ...will watch the rest later! Nice to hear you chatting.
Trying not to sound like a Grumpy old man (which I probably am), I think very few modern covers people will collect for the Artwork. Looking forward to Maze of Death it's great to have a PKD I haven't read
I’m ready to go on roadside picnic 🫡. That copy of Shadow of the Torturer 😮 how you managed to get one with an unbroken spine!?! I think that 85’ copy of Man in a High Castle might be the best I’ve seen yet 😍.
That version of Shadow is probably in better condition than the version I got rid of in 90s book purge. I've been keeping an eye out for years hoping I could pick up a cheap copy but came to the conclusion that I should just buy one when I saw it, as the prices weren't coming down and it was gettig rarer. Silly money for a PB but oh well. That copy of High Castle I love the cover. It's part of a penguin series of classic books which all seem to have great covers and are not all your normal 'Classic Sf', I'm going to keep an eye out for others in that series. Maybe start Picnic next week? I have a couple of things to finish up this week first.
I'm probably not the first to say this, but from a visual point of view I think there's a good analogy with physical music formats, with hardbacks being the LPS of the book world, trade paperbacks the CDs, and mass market paperbacks the cassette tapes. In my view, the middle item is the least appealing aesthetically.
For me it's one of the most readable of the Sagas, there's verse all the way through it and some great Viking Names. I may do another section at some point.
Apologies for my Dogs deciding to Bark and whine so much, it's not a normal occurance and hopefully just a one off. I hope it didn't interfere with the conversatioo too much. Obviously Mrs BAFTD was trying her best but as she has a disability couldn't even take them out for a walk.
Thanks for talking about these. Read 2 or 3 of them back when virtual reality was the rave a la Lawnmower Man. The setting let the authors play around with several different genres which made for fun reading.
I think there's four in total, the first one for me is the best especially the Murder/mystery plot line, considering it was pre VR the technology used to create the games is a really interesting concept also theres quite s few nods to Westworld (the film). The sequels do a good job of tweaking the technology as real world tech was changing.
This is making me nostalgic for those early moments in the story 😊. I have to say your comments on the gender dynamics at play in the world are spot on 👌. It is so interesting to have a matriarchal society and along with Jordan’s scandalously underrated prose is a real highlight for me.
I actually think that the opening paragraph is one of the best introductions to a fantasy world I've read. He manages to introduce you without getting bogged down in describing all the tiny details. He remembers we're there for the story not the world (hopefully he continues to do that). Matriarchal is the word I couldn't remember when recording!
Hi! Nice to meet you and thanks for doing our original tag. It’s been a while since anyone did this one so double thanks ! Graphic design- wow that’s so cool. I’d love to see some of your drawings. “Nightstand” lol yes we are American. 😂😂😂 great version buddy !
Yes makes perfectly sense. Read what you like. So war and piece is a real chunker. Wasn’t it first published in parts in a magazine? I find I have a bit of a problem with these types of books. I’m currently listening to the mysteries of London which is also over 1000 pages. I loved the first half but I find myself struggling with it after 60%. I just stopped caring about the characters. There are so many of them. I think it’s the problem that this is just not one story. It’s a lot of stories about different people that just happen to have a connection. I think it’s because it’s written episode after episode and not having any idea how the story is going to end.
There's a lot of Science Fiction books from the 50s and 60s that are fix ups from being published episodically in magazines. The Magazines were normally a main source of income for the writers which is why they wrote so much for this market. At their best they can work as novels well but you do sometimes get them that as you say don't feel much of a connection to easch other.
Interesting discussion. For me saying something is "difficult" is the biggest disservice to a book. I also thinks people read for many reasons and fun is just one of the reasons. If you do a part 2 to this I'd love to discuss all this with you.
Yes i agree about the difficult thing, you're right about the many reasons I think I vagully brushed over that and it deserves more insight. I'd love to continue the discussion I'll email you and see if we can organise something if you're up for it.
I can say that the prose in Malazan is not challenging. I have really enjoyed the classics I’ve read but I certainly would not read any that I was not interested in 🤷🏻♂️
What I've heard about Malazan is that it's a difficult read because the Narrative doesn't explain much from the get go. I've heard people go on about this like Malazan was the first books to ever do something like this.
@@backawayfromthedonkey Right. It just gives the reader vast amounts of information to remember that will be explained 2/3 thousand pages down the line. It is structured more akin to epic science fiction than it is fantasy. Like if they decided Dune would be 12,000 pages long 🤷🏻♂️
We have an 8 Year old Yorkie called Gizmo, a 9 year old Pomerainian called Ruby and our new edition is a 4 month old SharPei (whom I'm going to do an official intro video for soon) called LeeLoo all are rescues. Gizmo is also an anxious Lad as he came from a bad history, he's been with us for two years but still caries some of the mental scars, but genrally he's a happy soul.
I always read the Prologues and I knew from the moment I read this one that this Robert Jordan guy can really write. The guy from the end of the show is a Forsaken. They’re dark wizards and serve as Nazgûl stand ins. To make things a little more confusing both Rand and the Dark One go by several different names due to the repeating cyclical nature of the world.
The Prologue is one of the most accesible (in a good way) I've ever read. The Tv Seies really IMO didn't do a good job on the narrative (maybe season 2 is better). I'm loving Jordan's prose, not as flowery or extravagant as some writers but it reads really well. I'm really enjoying discovering the plot which is why I thought I'd take my time. I was planning on doing my favourite Fantasy books video soon, but I need to wait now until I've finished this.
@@backawayfromthedonkey Definitely! I’m looking forward to your thoughts because I don’t think the book gets going until about two thirds in so it is a great sign you are enjoying yourself. The second book is also a big step up from this one too and if you don’t believe me just watch Steve Donoghue’s thoughts on it.
