the archives
dusted off in read-only
dusted off in read-only
Read this book a month back, and enjoyed it a lot. There's not much out there that's quite like it, and I liked the break from the usual run of novel. The footnotes really added an extra dimension to the story, I think. Liked the character of Jonathan Strange a lot. Good news if she's writing more. view post
He said there were a lot more chapters of those than other characters - but there are a lot more characters in the other arcs. This seems a sensible decision to me, considering that the alternative he was given was that the book be split in half. Elsewhwere I've read that [i:1bph167r]Feast[/i:1bph167r] will be the length of [i:1bph167r]A Game of Thrones[/i:1bph167r], even with that material cut out. Since it seems likely that [i:1bph167r]A Dance With Dragons[/i:1bph167r] would have featured Daenerys heavily in any case, this may work out well. view post
I'm almost finished reading Volume 1 of The Book of the New Sun ([i:2aneey48]Shadow of the Torturer[/i:2aneey48] and [i:2aneey48]Claw of the Conciliator[/i:2aneey48]) - found it a little odd in the first book, but am beginning to get used to the style and finding it a good read. I have the next volume to hand, and after that I'll have to choose which one out of Mieville's [i:2aneey48]King Rat[/i:2aneey48], Martin's [i:2aneey48]Fevre Dream[/i:2aneey48], and TH White's [i:2aneey48]The Once and Future King[/i:2aneey48] I will read first. view post
The announcement is up on the [url=http://www.georgerrmartin.com/:136am9py]site[/url:136am9py]. Apparently the manuscript as it was would have come to more than 1600 pages, even bigger than ASoS. view post
Well, the fifth book is pretty much set apart from the rest of the series so far. A different continent, a different cast, and only small references to things that go on elsewhere. There's a PoV character from House of Chains, but MT is set before that book so it won't spoil the storyline. It may however be better to have read Memories of Ice first - MT has references to characters and events that were introduced or occured in the third book of the series - although relatively minor. The one major-ish spoiler might not even be understood until MoI is read and so probably wouldn't spoil much at all. So I guess it wouldn't matter much if you read Midnight Tides first (as long as you still read MoI before HoC), but personally I'd think it better to wait for MoI first. view post
I've never liked the rather dull-looking silver and gold covers with the awful fonts. I have the cover on the link, and I think it looks ok. view post
Ian Cameron Esselmont has only written one novel, and at the minute it's hard to get ahold of. It also costs a lot. The book can be ordered directly from the publisher (PS Publishing, who also printed Erikson's novellas) [url=http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/cat/nok.asp:b18oxq4d]here[/url:b18oxq4d]. I ordered mine from Amazon UK, but have to wait more than a month for it to dispatch. In an interview recently it was revealed that there are plans for a series of five Malazan novels to be written by Esselmont, but it all depends on whether he's picked up by a major publisher. view post
http://malazan.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/25 ... 6411031401 [quote:1gy9hu88]Steve and I originally wrote Gardens as a full-length motion picture screenplay. He and I pitched it and other screenplays but none made it into development. Over the years Steve became fed up and asked if he could just go ahead and novelize Gardens. I said: go for it! He finished the novel and showed it around. It caught some interest in England and Steve and I were thrilled. But there was a problem: this “shared world” thing. Apparently, and this dumbfounded me, the fantasy publishers, the agents, no one knew what to do with this “shared world” idea. They couldn’t get their heads around it (still can’t frankly). That both Steve and I did, could, and would continue to write in the world made publishers uneasy – too “messy” or uncertain (God knows what they thought). In any case, since even getting anything into print is so unsure in fantasy, Steve and I agreed not to push the “shared” aspect publicly until (fait accompli) the world became real and couldn’t just be wished away by the industry.[/quote:1gy9hu88] view post
Just finished:
Deftones - White Pony
And just started:
Brand New - Deja Entendu
I can never seem to stop listening to the same few albums. I need to start buying new stuff. 
view post
[quote="Epitaphs":xl5t5z6e]The original was striking, mystical. Ancient texts entombed herein, is what it said.[/quote:xl5t5z6e] When I saw that cover, the first word to enter my head was not 'striking' or 'mystical' or anything like that - it was 'tacky'. view post
[quote="White Lord":1hrng57k]As opposed to the non-tackiness of the one you seem to prefer? 
[/quote:1hrng57k]
Heh, IMO yeah, but everyone has their own taste. I just tend to think the people who pick british book covers have more of it than most. 
view post
I'm reading Miéville's [i:23sw8k0d]King Rat[/i:23sw8k0d]. view post
The new White Stripes album, [i:1mnkmgg7]Get Behind Me Satan[/i:1mnkmgg7]. Alright, but apart from the single Blue Orchid nothing really stands out. Edit: this album grows on you, like some kind of musical fungus. I can't stop listening. view post
I like the first two, but the scantily clad maidens idea is hard to resist. view post
Uh, having just seen a better quality picture of the US cover (note that I've never seen the cover IRL - they don't use that cover here) I take back my comment that it was 'tacky' - but I still say the UK cover is better. view post
Among the options given, personal favourite is the Hitchhiker's Guide. But I also liked Night's Dawn, Earthsea, and Otherland. Haven't read the others, but the ones I have are so different I don't think it's fair to compare them. view post
I finished Martin's [i:1ts0ge9v]Fevre Dream[/i:1ts0ge9v], and have now begun reading TH White's [i:1ts0ge9v]The Once and Future King[/i:1ts0ge9v]. view post
I say: Jaime Cersei Sansa Arya Unrevealed new PoV Sam Iron Islands (Asha, Aeron, not sure if there're more) Dorne (Areo Hotah (sp?), one of the Kingsguard I can't remember right now) And the ones moved into Dance: Dany Tyrion Jon Davos Bran Theon? view post
I tend to prefer Burger King to McDonalds. Okay, so BK has ripoff prices and the fries aren't as good now that they're cutting down on the salt, but I can't resist having a bacon double cheeseburger when I get the chance. view post
I think they've really been forced into it by all those people ranting about obesity, heh. I'm sure the salads and 'healthy option' foods probably don't sell that well in any case, but if they stopped offering them at all the complainers would be up in arms again. At Burger King I think they're actually offering carrot sticks as part of the kids meal. view post
All the stores I've been to recently seem to have a lot of copies of the tDtCB mmpb. However, something that seems a little odd is that I have never, in any store at any time, seen a copy of tWP. They're pushing tDtCB quite strongly, but they don't even stock tWP. view post
'First episode' meaning the first one they broadcast? That was actually the third episode, and I wasn't too impressed with that one either. Then I the second (fourth) one, which was actually quite a bit better (after that I started watching them in the [i:32sg8bj7]correct[/i:32sg8bj7] order, which improved things a bit) - it was an alright show, even if some episodes weren't quite as good as others. view post
I ordered it, but I decided it wasn't worth the cost and cancelled the order. £35 is just too much for one book. view post
[quote:3s4fry9h][quote:3s4fry9h]However, something that seems a little odd is that I have never, in any store at any time, seen a copy of tWP. They're pushing tDtCB quite strongly, but they don't even stock tWP.[/quote:3s4fry9h]
That would be because TWP doesn't come out until July 7th![/quote:3s4fry9h]
Heh, did it get delayed again? I always miss these things.
view post
The first time I saw that cookie, I'd forgotten so much about PoN I thought logos was the plural of logo and was correspondingly confused. view post
I've finally started The Warrior Prophet.
view post
Finished [i:2h88suhj]The Warrior-Prophet[/i:2h88suhj], starting [i:2h88suhj]No Present Like Time[/i:2h88suhj]. view post
Finished [i:1ok5udrq]No Present Like Time[/i:1ok5udrq] (great book), started the [i:1ok5udrq]Gormenghast[/i:1ok5udrq] trilogy. view post
I believe it was a method of execution at some point. view post
[i:mzowqcjv]Interlocution[/i:mzowqcjv] has a certain ring to it.
Also like [i:mzowqcjv]Amaranthine[/i:mzowqcjv] and [i:mzowqcjv]Tribadism[/i:mzowqcjv] (for its rhythm, not its meaning 
)
view post
I suspect something more complex. We don't know what is going to happen when Kellhus and Moenghus finally meet, but it is certainly going to change the relationship between the Inrithi and Fanim - the Holy War could even end with the Psukhe becoming [i:22z1od61]allowed[/i:22z1od61]. The fact that it doesn't leave a mark on the world has always been an interesting one, when we consider that sorcery is believed the Word of the God. Whatever happens, I don't think Xin will necessarily have to become anathema to learn the Psukhe - whether allowed, or protected by Kellhus - but I think he will learn, because it would provide Achamian with a new perspective on the Cishaurim. view post
[quote="White Lord":hzq1i6jr][quote:hzq1i6jr][i:hzq1i6jr]There is a post by Scott where he clearly says that the Erratics number perhaps a few thousands, and that they have always served the Consult. [/i:hzq1i6jr] Which is not correct. What Scott said was that there are a few hundred Nonmen that serve the Consult.[/quote:hzq1i6jr] Well thank you for correcting me on the numbers. The gist of those posts would tend to confirm my own speculation however. No mention of Nonmen, just Erratics, as Consult servants.[/quote:hzq1i6jr] Scott says in that post that the [i:hzq1i6jr]majority[/i:hzq1i6jr] of the nonmen serving the Consult are Erratics, so that does mean there are others serving them. [quote:hzq1i6jr][quote:hzq1i6jr] B) Whether or not the Nonmen fought for the No-God in insignifcant numbers is something you don't know. It's just your speculation. Since neither you nor anyone else knows the numbers of the Nonmen population as a whole , we can't say how big a percentage of those Nonmen fought for the Consult.[/quote:hzq1i6jr] Ah, surely it's just speculation. I'm glad you see that. I wish you'd also specify that your position is also speculation, with as much (or as little) backing it as mine. Then we could agree on the fact that until we know for sure it would be unwise to make any claims either way, as you made in the post I first responded to.[/quote:hzq1i6jr] The same post that Mithfanion referred to for Consult-serving numbers also states that the [i:hzq1i6jr]majority[/i:hzq1i6jr] of Nonmen remain in Ishterebinth, which lends more weight to the idea that those serving the Consult are only a small proportion. view post
I don't think he ever intended to imply that the entire nonman nation, as a group, fought for the No-God - he was talking more about the nonmen as a collection of individuals than a nation, and when he said that nonmen have fought both for and against the Consult, did not mean that the same nonmen were changing sides, but that the entire group cannot be broadly labelled as 'for' or 'against' the Consult because there were individuals of the species fighting on both sides. view post
The Worm Ouroboros, by ER Eddison. view post
Terrible at 'Top __' lists, so I'll just name a bunch at random: The White Stripes, The Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Radiohead, Less Than Jake, Kasabian, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and so on and so forth... view post
Too busy posting [url=http://kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7896:3mb7ji44]pointless s***[/url:3mb7ji44] elsewhere. view post
Old Viricon has been rudely interrupted by the arrival of A Feast For Crows this morning. view post
Finished [i:137liqhf]Feast[/i:137liqhf] and back to [i:137liqhf]Viriconium[/i:137liqhf]. view post
[quote:3pzvprrh]I look forward to the day when retailers know EXACTLY what I want to buy so I don't have to rummage through pounds and pounds of junk mail.[/quote:3pzvprrh] The problem with this being, of course, that they're usually more concerned with what [i:3pzvprrh]they[/i:3pzvprrh] want you to buy, not what [i:3pzvprrh]you[/i:3pzvprrh] want to buy. If you accept this over-optimistic belief that, once they understand the way you buy more, marketers will only offer you what you want, then you become susceptible to being told what it is you want by people who don't care whether you [i:3pzvprrh]really[/i:3pzvprrh] want it or not. You become accustomed to having them say "you wanted something like this, here it is", and then when they say "you want this too" you just accept it. view post
[quote:2t6ktit3]At this point your mommy and I would ask you if you'd jump off the cliff, too. If you take for granted everything that an advertiser tells you, then you deserve what you get.[/quote:2t6ktit3] Fact is, a lot of people will. Most won't even realise it. That was kinda my point. Advertisers will use these methods, and people will just follow along, and the advertisers will justify it by saying - despite all evidence to the contrary - that people are smart enough to think for themselves and that it's their own fault for letting themselves be so easily manipulated (but who was it who was trying to manipulate them in the first place, eh?). view post
I always took it to refer to a pole star - the other stars appear to revolve around it, making it seem like a fixed point in the heavens.
But I suppose that idea is a bit boring compared to your theories, eh?
view post
Currently reading [i:5yrgbs85]American Gods[/i:5yrgbs85]. Recently read [i:5yrgbs85]Iron Council[/i:5yrgbs85] and [i:5yrgbs85]Knife of Dreams[/i:5yrgbs85]. view post
Going to start Vandermeer's [i:3kxm6n42]Veniss Underground[/i:3kxm6n42] today. view post
Just read Jonathan Carroll's [i:36ccopr1]The Land of Laughs[/i:36ccopr1], and it was even better than I'd expected it to be. I might be starting Wolfe's [i:36ccopr1]Wizard Knight[/i:36ccopr1] next. view post
KJ Parker's [i:r2pzves3]Devices and Desires[/i:r2pzves3]. view post
Reading Hal Duncan's [i:2hq2171c]Vellum[/i:2hq2171c]. Very, very good so far. view post
M urfrfin view post
I'm reading Moorcock's Von Bek. view post
Just finished Jeff Vandermeer's [i:2hj0gxyd]Shriek: An Afterword[/i:2hj0gxyd] - really, really good. view post
Today I finished The Thousandfold Thought.
view post
It all comes back to the Circumfixion. The probability trance never saw it coming, and the privation and exposure certainly took its toll on Kellhus. He's only had these visions and thoughts since he was circumfixed. It could be said that the fact he did it on faith, carrying through on the mad hope that Cnaiur would save him despite his uncommon lack of certainty, abetted his delusions afterwards - for him, the fact that it occured the way he had hoped became a sign that he really was more than he had thought. So maybe he begins to believe that he is a Prophet. Maybe he begins to see haloes like the rest of them. He carries on using his Dunyain abilities to manipulate everyone and thinks his insights come from Outside. But since we know the Outside exists, its hard to dismiss what he sees and feels outright. Either his mind snapped on the tree, or the ordeal opened him to the God - both versions are equally plausible in tTT. I guess only later books will tell. view post
He saw that they would charge him with false prophecy, but he was unsure what would happen after that. He thought there was a chance the Scylvendi would act the way he did, and he decided it was worth the risk. It was the first time he had needed to act without a reasonable degree of certainty of what would happen. view post
Good post, Curethan. You make some good points there - especially about Kellhus not understanding because he believes he is still master of his destiny. The memes of course being what Moenghus spoke of, the best fabrication, the idea with the most power to turn people to it. And as for Kellhus' morality - his conversation with Moenghus shows that he is convinced of the existence of the soul, and the truth of its salvation/damnation - the existance of sorcery and the goals of the Consult prove it to him, as well as his own experiences. And it seems implied in that scene that while Moenghus believed the Thousandfold Thought could be anything - any lie strong enough to unite the people of the Three Seas in a sinlge cause - Kellhus truly wants it to be the Truth that rules, though he may have lied to reach this point. He wants to save these people's souls, and however distasteful his methods may be, that is a noble goal. Whether his power comes from the Outside or himself, he may be doing a good thing for Earwa. My opinion of Kellhus changes the more I think on that conversation.... view post
Spambot.
view post
[quote="Brahm_K":39cs0liy]...it just got a little ridiculous that... SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!! Kalam is able to take on about 200 Claws and win, until the very end, wherein he doesn't even die due to a literal deus ex machina. Erikson needs to start being more realistic with these things. END SPOILER[/quote:39cs0liy] SPOILERS: To be fair, he actually only fought and killed forty or fifty, some with the help of T'amber, and all of them unable to use their usual sorcery to sneak up on him because of Tavore's sword. Apsalar, on the other hand, killed about 300 on her own, but then, she's Ascendant. view post
If I've heard correctly, it's supposedly based on 'lost chapters' written by Frank and only recently rediscovered, but I've not seen many people who believe that claim. Anyway, for your perusal (in case you have not come across these yet): [url=http://www.dunenovels.com/dune7blog/chapters/Hunters-Chapter01.pdf:1evb8shf]Chapter 1[/url:1evb8shf] and [url=http://www.dunenovels.com/dune7blog/chapters/Hunters-Chapter02.pdf:1evb8shf]Chapter 2[/url:1evb8shf]. view post
1) Their spies started disappearing in Shimeh. This was because of Moenghus, of course, but they didn't know it. They decided the Cishaurim had discovered a way to find the skin-spies, and that because of this the Cishaurim had to be wiped out. 2) Kellhus had to kill the Cishaurim, to finish the Holy War. He'd united the Inrithi under him through the mechanism of a war to destroy the Cishaurim; not to follow through with it wouldn't particularly compromise the position he had set up for himself, but it would seem odd to the Men of the Tusk. In the end it doesn't matter much - Kellhus has the Gnosis, and the Psukhe just isn't useful for his purposes. And since Kellhus can find skin-spies as well, the Consult's reason for wiping the Cishaurim out no longer applies. 3) I think the Consult knows how the Mandate are viewed in the Three Seas. While the Mandate view themselves as the enemy of the Consult, the Consult don't consider them worth dealing with in any drastic way - for one thing, they don't have any influence among the Inrithi. For another, killing off Mandate might draw too much attention: They're a laughing stock, so why would anyone want to kill them? view post
[quote="Curethan":20i72b7v][quote="Warrior-Poet":20i72b7v] Just for future references the Scylvendi's god is the No-God thats why they call their god the Dead God, so if your trying to say you think Cnaiur will become the No-God i doubt it.[/quote:20i72b7v] He is? I thought so .... but has this been confirmed?[/quote:20i72b7v] Unusual: Under "Lokung" (the Dead God) in the glossary it says "see No-God", but under No-God it doesn't mention Lokung or the Scylvendi. In fact, I noticed there was a distinct lack of Scylvendi in the Encyclopaedic Glossary as a whole. The entry on them is brief and unilluminating, they are mentioned only briefly under "Apocalypse"; I think Scott has gone out of his way to avoid giving us any more information on the Scylvendi and their relationship to the Consult. Suggests it's spoiler material. view post
Iain Banks' [i:2jw9ore2]Consider Phlebas[/i:2jw9ore2]. view post
[quote:jdoa0yxr]It was one of those series where it's obvious the author has skill and could write something really good[/quote:jdoa0yxr] Donaldson's sci-fi series, The Gap, is brilliant IMO. Better than all his other books. He really pared down his language around that time in his career, so the story doesn't get bogged down in description like the TC books sometimes did (The One Tree, for example, was slow moving and very difficult to read). view post
Just FYI, the series is: The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die view post
Weren't many of the aspects of Scott's world modelled on Tolkien's? The nonmen, sranc, wracu; the history where nonmen began to dwindle away and men arrived from the east.... view post
Last night I finished [i:1k2cze1b]Frankenstein[/i:1k2cze1b]. I'm not sure what to read next - probably whatever's nearest the top of the boxes I have them all packed up in (I recently returned home from uni). view post
[quote:czmmbwsq]There's a whole lot of Tupac vs. Biggie Smalls-style hate going on between Bakker fans and Erikson fans over at Westeros, and I guess I prefer to be at least mildly informed before I'll hand out beatdowns.[/quote:czmmbwsq] That's interesting, because over at Malazan Empire there are a lot of Bakker fans, probably because Steve recommended him way back when [i:czmmbwsq]The Darkness That Comes Before[/i:czmmbwsq] came out. I don't think I've seen anyone there arguing about it - they all think both series are great. I've started Mark Z Danielewski's [i:czmmbwsq]House of Leaves[/i:czmmbwsq], and seven chapters in, I can say it's pretty damn good. view post
Since the Consult had a spy in the Mandate, I expect it's safe to say they know everything the Mandate knows, which would include the Celmomian Prophecy. view post
The pure monotheism of the Fanim also lends to them being based on islam, with their Solitary God being like the muslim god, while Inrithism has a god who has multiple forms, as well as many minor entities receiving worship--in the sense of the christian Trinity and all the saints and angels. view post
I have similar thoughts on it. I believe that whatever Seswatha did when he passed on his memories, he altered them to make sure they had the effect he wanted, or perhaps because the implications of what he had seen frightened even him. If Kellhus removed one barrier in Akka, perhaps he removed them all. view post
I think that the Chorae carapace might have been what they used to trap the No-God - to hold it in the world, as it were. I expect it is not something that is meant to be in the world: It was certainly bewildered and ignorant, when they finally brought it out onto the battlefield; I doubt it can understand what the Consult have done to it. That suggests that it exists in the Outside only, until they bring it through and trap it. Considering the Consult's purpose in existence--to cut the world off from Outside, to cut it off from the God, in order to eliminate the possibility of damnation--and the effects of the No-God's presence in the world--no new life can enter the world while the No-God is present--there are some very interesting implications. If no new life can enter the world, what does that mean? Does the No-God's presence work as a resistance to the entry of life, or is it an elimination of life's [i:2tui4dzz]source[/i:2tui4dzz]? view post
But do we really know that the No-God did plan the war, and that it chose to stay off the battlefield? That could be the perception taken of it by the people of the Three Seas, but it could just as easily have been the Consult who made the decisions, the Consult who held it back until necessary. The idea that the No-God was in charge could come from a misperception of its nature. When it asks "what do you see?" that doesn't indicate that it cannot see, only that is cannot see [i:3crquh39]itself[/i:3crquh39]. To this extent Harrol would be right to say it lacks a "certain amount" of self-awareness. It cannot perceive its own nature. The fact that the king repeats the words at the end suggests he may have been the one the No-God was attempting to ask, to communicate with. The No-God wanted to know what it was. Myself, I think the No-God may have been some element of the Outside that the Consult trapped in the World, sealed within the Carapace. If the thing that became the No-God (that becomes the No-God when this is done to it) was not of the World, it would have difficulty understanding the World if it suddenly found itself trapped there. view post
[quote="Harrol":38ppeo47]Try Erickson too.[/quote:38ppeo47] Do you mean Erickson or Erikson? (I ask because I don't see Steve Erickson mentioned anywhere near as often as Steven Erikson.) Wolfe. Read Gene Wolfe. view post