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Apocryphal
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Comments
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I read this - interesting as far as it goes. I've read a fair bit of Pictish history, but the sites mentioned here are new ones to me, so that was pretty cool.
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On the plus side, I rather enjoyed the description of Essun entering The Big Kahuna, and even (for once) enjoyed the writer trick employed when Essun realized she loved Hoa. Seems like there's a budding romance between Essun and Lerna. Is them the …
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(Quote) Seems fine. Isn't that the sturcture of Bilbo's and Frodo's quests (as @RichardAbbott described)? (Quote) That's an interesting observation. Certainly our societal weaknesses are being put to the test this year, especially our treatment of …
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(Quote) There's a wild world of games out there now that do all kinds of things. Many of them have a very narrow focus. I'd be very surprised if there isn't one about grief. Maybe that French RPG: Polaris? I gave me copy away. Good point re: charis…
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(Quote) It was something I read in Michel Tardieu's book. It surprised me at the time, since 'dualistic' was just about the only thing I knew about Mani up until then. (Quote) These ideas being that Good and Evil will fight, and that some people wi…
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(Quote) Apart from the veiling, much of this applies to Medieval European culture, as well. If fact, there are few cultures in the world that don't treat men and women differently. True, they don't all go to the extreme of veiling, but not not every…
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We had already established Hoa as the narrator. One of the things I'm still curious about in this story is the context under which Hoa is narrating this. I suspect he's narrating to a mostly stone Essun who either isn't able to tell her own story? o…
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It’s @dr_mitch ’s favourite book.
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@BarnerCobblewood your questions need glossaries! I also didn't know what MCU was, and I had to look up Ressentiment: a psychological state arising from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred that cannot be acted upon, frequently resulting in some …
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@RichardAbbott 'Heya' is not in the glossary, but is described in one of the notes on the text in the back of the expanded edition (near the very end). Heyiya (which in in the glossary) means sacred, holy, to change, to become, and to praise. Heya i…
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Overall I enjoyed the book. I think it would reward a re-reading, though I don't intend to that soon. My favourite parts of the novel were The Stone Telling story, some of the shorter anecdotal type stories (like the one about the blob of blood and …
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Sounds great - I already got my hardback in the mail. :)
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Now reading into the extra material in the book. Le Guin had four novels rejected before turning to SF (where she was heavily inspired by Cordwainer Smith, and also P.K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, and Theodore Sturgeon). She was in the same graduating hi…
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In my book ‘ashblow’ is covered in the glossary in the appendix. The description isn’t great, but basically makes me think of an Afro or mat of tight dreads. Classically this hair is tinged Grey, like ash, not not always. I don’t know. I picture Don…
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Is it just me or did the writing style change significantly in chapter 16? Essun’s dialogue somehow seems very casual, suddenly. On the matter of Stone Eaters, I’m not surprised, but I also find it hard to care. We still know next to nothing abou…
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We don’t discuss The Great Eastern until the end of July, so maybe the price will come down, or a paperback be released, before then.
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@RichardAbbott Its a newer book, and as with many newer books the publisher thinks will be successful, it’s been released hardback first. I suspect they’ll do a paperback eventually. And so no second hand, either. But most of you buy kindle, n…
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@WildCard Can I ask you to write an introductory post for your pick, basically announcing and saying a bit about why you picked it or think it’s worth readiing. Please paste that in the ‘nominations’ thread. To everyone, I have the July pick. I’ve…
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We’re talking about a whole planet, here. It’s completely unbelievable to me that a whole planet will subscribe to a repressive system and not a single group of peole will oppose it. There will always be a place for Orogenes to go, even if they have…
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I just read a pretty good anthology of Victorian SF, so I must be in the YPROSF category.
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> * Does the notion of Guardians being the "third side" make sense? I didn’t really get that they were the third faction from the text, though I did get that their motivations are complex. I’m not sure if it makes sense; I always tho…
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I’ve never heard of the use Clash mentions. They also use the word ‘gangbangers’ very differently.
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And so the pipe of new tradition is laid.... (For my part I understand Neil’s context but not Clash’s)
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Hookay, that looks pretty cool! I ordered a copy - even if we don’t do it now.
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Great observation re: the spiral and opening sentence! I missed that but wasn’t really thinking in that context when I started the book. Another anachronism from the Iliad is the burial method. Homer was a story teller, not a historian - he only…
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@WildCard Do you want to settle on Red Mars, then? Seems most of us have read it, which allows some people to still participate in the discussion if they don’t re-read. I will re-listen to my audio version, and it sound like Barners in, too. Does…
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On the matter of ‘what kind of violence is this’ I would guess that @RichardAbbott is comparing the craft of martial arts in the historical stories with the hatred/revenge motifs in this book. The violence in The Broken Earth isn’t a means to an end…
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I also read it a few years ago. I think it stands well enough on its own. It’s a bit on the long side for a monthly pick, but we can extend the reading time if people want. I think Clash and Richard will love it, but they may have read it already an…
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> @RichardAbbott said: > (Quote) > Aha, thanks for the info! One of the more interesting parts of the interview with NK Jemisin that @NeilNjae posted about the other day (https://www.ttrpbc.com/discussion/436/interview-with-nk-jemisin) wa…
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(Quote) Just because her fantasy novel doesn't bother with science doesn't mean she personally disbelieves in science. Anyway, we passed the infamous 'page 166' in Chapter 10. This is page I turned to at random when we were trying to decided whethe…