What did you just read?
- Thread starter Fippy Darkpaw
- Start date
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I must have missed it but two more books of the STYX Humanhive series made it into English. The first two are awesome. The premise is completely and utterly batshit but somehow it works.
Think if you took Mad Max, Zombie Plague, X-Men Mutants, Fallout style Super Mutants, apocalyptic wasteland, and extra-dimensional invaders and put all of that shit in a blender.
Think if you took Mad Max, Zombie Plague, X-Men Mutants, Fallout style Super Mutants, apocalyptic wasteland, and extra-dimensional invaders and put all of that shit in a blender.
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Ritley
Bronze Baron of the Realm
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The name change from book 2 to book 3 really fucked with me. I’m sure it is a translation problem, but still. Changing the name of the MC between books with no real rationale is odd.
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Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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I'm sure the cat also got changed. I would have remembered if it was named Unicorn.
Void
BAU BAU
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Which one should I read first? Or are they separate enough that it doesn't really matter?
Ukerric
Bearded Ape
- 8,368
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They're completely different takes on the same rough setting. STYX is the realistic version, Respawn the gamified one. Different places, plot, different characters (although they're all russian, ofc), etc, but it's the same patchwork of regularly respawning real world places, with the natives turning into zombies, etc. So whichever.
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Void
BAU BAU
- 9,896
- 11,877
It appears I read the first STYX book a couple years ago. I gave it a 3/5 on Goodreads. No memory of it, but I'm sure once I get into it again it will come back. That being said, I think I'll jump into Respawn first due to there being more books available right now.
TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
- 43,039
- 109,923
I lived in Florida for some time. Florida is full of really interesting history. One of those interesting bits is the Highwaymen. A loose affiliation of black artists in the Florida who took to painting landscapes around the state without any formal education in painting whatsoever. While the majority of the Highwaymen stuck around the coasts of Florida so they could paint the ocean and sell more easily to tourists and whatnot Robert Butler here was a reclusive country type who loved the Everglades. Drove around painting things he liked and selling them while hunting.
As most of Central Florida has been developed by now he inadvertently catalogued a Florida biome that doesn't exist as much anymore.
Robert Butler is a pretty cool guy. As he got more popular he eventually ran into the DEI types and they kept pestering him about "HOW DID YOU DO THIS IN JIM CROW SOUTH?" Being an uneducated country boy he had no idea what that was. Straight told them he never experienced Civil Rights racism so if it happened, whatever. No further comment thanks. Also came up with the Highwaymen name for the art show circle. When told it was a synonym for highway robbers and has been for centuries still said no we're using it. I drive around in my car and sell paintings. What better word would there be?
Short read, but worth your time.
As most of Central Florida has been developed by now he inadvertently catalogued a Florida biome that doesn't exist as much anymore.
Robert Butler is a pretty cool guy. As he got more popular he eventually ran into the DEI types and they kept pestering him about "HOW DID YOU DO THIS IN JIM CROW SOUTH?" Being an uneducated country boy he had no idea what that was. Straight told them he never experienced Civil Rights racism so if it happened, whatever. No further comment thanks. Also came up with the Highwaymen name for the art show circle. When told it was a synonym for highway robbers and has been for centuries still said no we're using it. I drive around in my car and sell paintings. What better word would there be?
Short read, but worth your time.
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Cad
scientia potentia est
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I read the Children of Time/Children of Ruin/Children of Memory series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The first one was great, the second one was fine and the third one was skippable.
If I could do it again I'd stop at the first book and pretend the others didn't exist.
If I could do it again I'd stop at the first book and pretend the others didn't exist.
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TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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A book about an Indian who lived during the Raj period and after. Later emigrated to the UK and died in London. Very excellent read as he mostly describes how he grew to know and interact with Westerners and the stunning differences between early 20th century India vs the 20th century United Kingdom. The author was the highest Brahmin cast and effectively royalty in the Calcutta region. But he lived in a "palace" that had mud floors that had to be shaped daily to "look clean." As an example.
After Independence this author and his book(s) were shitcanned as he described British India in a positive light rather than the anti-colonialist narrative that we know today. Really anything written prior to 1960 is through a completely different perspective on the world than the one we grew up with. After Independence he was considered a subversive by India and shunned by all Indians of note. Even in the UK.
After Independence this author and his book(s) were shitcanned as he described British India in a positive light rather than the anti-colonialist narrative that we know today. Really anything written prior to 1960 is through a completely different perspective on the world than the one we grew up with. After Independence he was considered a subversive by India and shunned by all Indians of note. Even in the UK.
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Arbitrary
Tranny Chaser
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Yes, that Andrew Yang.
In the not too distant future a reporter at the New York Times learns of a plot among senior military officials to take control of the government. A popular third party candidate is likely to disrupt the upcoming presidential election such that no candidate will be able to get the 270 electoral votes to be declared the winner. Political violence and disorder are rising as the election approaches so a plan is hatched by top generals to back the Republican candidate as they'll win a contingent election. There will be a veneer of legitimacy but it will be the military running the show. We spend some time with the reporter, the third party candidate's campaign and a political hatchet man working for the GOP. The authors are lefties so there are some predictions made that are kinda eyeroll and their solutions even more so (we need to decriminalize all drugs and institute UBI) but as a political thriller it's not bad. The biggest strike against it is that it has the basic Democrats are inept/Republicans are evil worldview. The lefty characters themselves feeling that way is one thing but it's also woven through the events of the story.
It's not too long and is an easy read. The insight in to some of the political machinery and running of a campaign was interesting and none of the characters were a chore to be around. We'll call it a C+.
