Oh, I see that now. Well, again, congrats!
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Congrats mate, bloody Hell, well done!
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Thatās awesome! Congrats! And sincere thanks for keeping some small part of our planet safe!
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Congratulations!
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Congrats Deputy Police Chief js619
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Congrats man!
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Well done, congratulations! 
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Did TRLoA have comics?
Or in other words, would it be ok to talk about comics here @OhBollox?
Back in the days we had a dedicated comic thread, but personally, I think we could as well talk about them here, as Iām interested in both comics and regular books.
Theyāre literature as far as Iām concerned.
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Great.
Iām reading through a lot of marvel comics these days, just to get a deeper understanding how the marvel characters developed.
Started with Fantastic Four, then Avengers (reading through the starting stories of most major characters like cap, fury, ant man, ā¦) a lot of back and forth. The latest were the first 66 comics of x-men, up to the dark Phoenix story, which I havenāt started yet. From what Iāve read through the internet x-men really starts to kick-off in this story. So Iāll start that soon, but somehow I am a little full of (old) x-men comics right now. From the first issues, the ones from Roy Thomas and Neal Adams really stand out.
I jumped to the latest X-men story, and read Power of X and House of X, they are awesome. Iāll continue when Dawn of X (a collection) comes out beginning of Feb to save myself some money, instead of buying the single issues.
Also great were the first two issues of the current Immortal Hulk series, and I cant wait to continue were I left it off. But I decided to read as much of the old marvel comics before starting with the new and much cooler ones.
Now Iām reading secret wars (the first one) which is ok, and also essential to understanding the development of the marvel universe. But to be honest, after reading the newer comics, the old ones feel harder to read. Or maybe Iām just a bit tired of them after now reading for many month.
Next Iāll read about Venom, then Iāll read Civil War.
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What The Hell Did I Just Read, Wong. If you know John Dies At The End, then you know what youāre getting with this. A cheerful mix of cosmic horror, constant jokes, super dark times, and some real pathos. I love these books for their slightly ramshackle construction; outrageous humour and disturbing ideas are smashed together until the story is just the right side of incoherent.
Iām late to the party. Congratulations!
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Agency, Gibson. Whatever you think of his relevance these days, I canāt think of a writer so fundamental to our notions of modern cool that theyāre more readable than Gibson; in terms of technological aesthetics and their blending with culture, heās been cutting edge for so long itās now more of a pleasingly dulled curve. Weāve got all the hits: AI, quantum futures, sneaky beaky escapades, and the sort of reality itās all too tempting to sink in to, where the Brexit referendum result was Remain, and Clinton is president of the US. Well crafted to the point itās literally pleasurable just to read.
I You We Them, Gretton. The study of dispersed responsibility in institutions allowing individuals to carry out their role in atrocities. Just fucking utterly depressing. Because the roles are individualised and specialised, it allows everyone within the institution to say āI was just doing my job.ā and not feel guilt to the point it interferes with them doing it, even if the end result is genocide.
A Game of Birds and Wolves, Parkin. During the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII, the Western Approaches Tactical Unit devised wargames to help get a grasp of U-boat tactics, and find methods to lower the quite frankly unacceptable loss rate. Iām not far enough into it to decide how important it actually was, but itās an interesting tale of forgotten practices that have been allowed to fall into the past.
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Saw your tweet and meant to ask if it was any good. Do I need to read The Peripheral first?
You donāt need to, but it would be very useful if you did.
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The Dog Stars, Heller. If thereās one thing I love, itās post-apocalyptic fiction, and this is one of the very few good ones. A beautiful lament for a half-dead world, full of the savagery of survival. Itās got a little of the cosy catastrophe about it, but only insofar as to make you feel the risks more keenly, as the protagonist decides to strike out past the point of no return from the airfield he calls home in his little plane. Itās the details of the setting, of post-apocalyptic daily life I enjoy, and this book has it plus some beautiful prose about the nature thatās left to die off or thrive as best it can.
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Pale Rider, Spinney. Now seems like a super good time to re-read this book on the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, and whew, I sort of wish I hadnāt. Although largely about the epidemic, itās also about the history of the flu and the human race, and the scale of that last mass death, sitting comfortably at 50+ million dead, dwarfs anything humans have managed at their most violent. Whatās even more surprising is how little it gets mentioned, shouldered aside by WWI and WWII. The way the disease touched virtually every culture is incredible.
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A Memory Called Empire, finally. Good, enjoyable, but I was expecting more, somehow. A system of administration and debate built around poetry, allusion, and evocation is a nice element. The corrupting effects of empire seems to be a theme, but itās well buried, especially when the ostensibly evil empire in question might be the lesser evil. Our heroine wins out, gets the girl and comes home changed. Mm. File alongside Ancillary Justice and The Traitor Baru Cormorant without the formerās icy detachment and the latterās rage.
There is going to be a sequel apparently, A Desolation Called Peace, which I will look forward to.
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Reread an old favorite recently, John Barnesā Orbital Resonance. Was considering recommending it to my daughter. If youāve heard people refer to The Martian as competence porn, this is cooperation porn. And, wow, do I need that! I didnāt even realize how much I needed to see people effectively resisting factionalism. Makes me wonder whether Game of Thrones has actually been horrible for our cultural values.
I donāt know that Iād say it was a truly good book, but it was a sort of future society I wanted to believe was possible. It doesnāt feel like great literature, but then, if great literature is supposed to teach us about ourselves and human nature, itās maybe the greatest literature I am capable of appreciating.
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