• Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:

    1. The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
    2. Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration

    Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.

What'cha Reading?

A few chapters into Tor's free preview of Gideon and I'm pretty disappointed by how loose and sloppy the prose is. I know this is the style of genre fiction in our modern age but I find it hard to get invested in character or plot when I keep having to navigate these jagged sentences. I'm going to keep going but honestly I don't see myself paying to continue past the free chapters.
Rather than loose or sloppy I would describe the writing as conversational i.e. it reads like a human being saying words like humans do. It owns.
 

shivam

commander damage
(he/hiim)
Steven Brust's new parody of the count of monte cristo, Baron of Magister Valley, is really really good once you get past the writing style, and also hits real different in a world of protests against police brutality and an unjust system that empowers the rich.
 

Behemoth

Dostoevsky is immortal!
(he/him/his)
Good luck! Shameless self-promotion moment: Loki and I have a podcast where we do a detailed, chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the entire series in a read-along, minimal-spoiler manner. If you get confused while reading, it might be worth checking us out! If you don't need us, that's fine too.

I'll promote their podcast, and I'm not involved with it in any way. I read the Book of the New Sun about a year ago and I've been slowly working my way through the podcast ever since.
 
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I've admired the author and the works inspired by him for years but failed to read his actual books. So far I'm enjoying his characters and surprised at their... humanity? I probably shouldn't be surprised that an author known for his androids has a good grasp of the human condition.
 
Last edited:

Seven

Enters, pursued by a bear
(he/him)
Good luck! Shameless self-promotion moment: Loki and I have a podcast where we do a detailed, chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the entire series in a read-along, minimal-spoiler manner. If you get confused while reading, it might be worth checking us out! If you don't need us, that's fine too.
Thanks for the link, I'll be sure to check it out as I go through this series. It's always great to have some supplementary material and to hear other viewpoints when it comes to these kinds of books.
 

Positronic Brain

Out Of Warranty
(He/him)
Rather than loose or sloppy I would describe the writing as conversational i.e. it reads like a human being saying words like humans do.

This. The narrative voice is tied down to the POV character, so it is very coloquial. The second book has a different POV and the style shifts dramatically, so it's a conscious choice. If you do keep reading it, Loki, we hsve s thread for this book series with marked spoilers.
 

Lokii

(He/Him)
Staff member
Moderator
This. The narrative voice is tied down to the POV character, so it is very coloquial.

Mmm, I can certainly see the argument for this in terms of the use of slang and such, but I'm referring to sentence composition, adjective choice, clarity of description, flow of action, etc. I'm only a handful of chapters in so I recognize I've only seen a small sample, and it would be super cool if the unrefined prose was a reflection of POV, but so far there haven't been any real signifiers that's what's occurring here. I haven't given up on it yet, but at the same time I'm not finding much that's compelling me to continue.

I'm not trying to be a scold here or imply that anyone is wrong for liking this book. It's clearly very popular and I'm glad that it's something special for many people. But for me, it's not satisfying what I personally read for, and I was surprised to discover this considering how much praise it's been getting. That's all.
 

FelixSH

(He/Him)
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I've admired the author and the works inspired by him for years but failed to read his actual books. So far I'm enjoying his characters and surprised at their... humanity? I probably shouldn't be surprised that an author known for his androids has a good grasp of the human condition.

Good choice, I still enjoyed it a lot when I reread that book. But it's probably relevant to mention that this book (and the other ones surrounding the foundation) was written decades after the older ones. I'd suggest to try one of his older books too, they do feel quite different. Not too much, just how you would expect wen someone takes a decade long break between writing.
 

Rosewood

The metal babble flees!
(she/her)
Jade War was a bust unfortunately. Couldn't get into it. Going to switch to biography, and read Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly

I loved Jade City. Jade War was, sadly, just okay. I'm still looking forward to the last one, though the ongoing delays are making me think that it's having some issues.

I just finished the second book of Kate Elliott's YA series "Court of Fives," Poisoned Blade. I'm both sad that she isn't more popular, and can completely understand it.

Next it's another YA from a few years ago, Shadowshaper. I don't read this much YA typically, really. :D When I'm on the e-reader it's Kylie Chan's Hong Kong-centered UF White Tiger. UF is junk reading for me, but this one has some interesting mythology!
 
The stories in Brief Cases were way better than Side Jobs, especially the last story. Going to take a bit of a break from Dresden so I can read Peace Talks and Battle Ground pretty much back to back. Moving on to The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons, the next book in The Chorus of Dragons series
 

Paul le Fou

24/7 lofi hip hop man to study/relax to
(He)
Picked up The City We Became to read with people from work for a book club. Slow going but I seem to be pretty caught up in it now
 

Patrick

Magic-User
(He/Him)
Poirot Investigates. It’s off to a good start! I’ve read a couple of other Christie novels before, and they’re always very pleasant & easy to read.
 

Lokii

(He/Him)
Staff member
Moderator
I came across an old fantasy series I had never heard of before, with some excellent covers:
Image


Image


EhVKbBlUMAA0cwv

Decided to try the ebook sample, it's intriguing so far, and there's been some good lines.

Image


Describes my relationship to the bookshelves in my home exactly.
 

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
Our Women's Group at work is doing a book club and first up is Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates. Not my typical reading but she's done a lot of good in the world and I don't know much about her so this should be good for me. So far the tone is a teetering on the "pearl clutching white lady is shocked by X thing" but I'm only 30 pages in so I'll give it a go.
 
Last edited:

R.R. Bigman

Coolest Guy
I asked my brother recently for his recommendations for a fantasy book, and he got me The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Its really good in some parts, namely the world building of it’s pretty neat magic systems of Sympathy and Naming. The main character edges dangerously close to Near Perfect Cool Guy, but I’m hoping the story will take some unexpected turns with that archetype, since it’s centered on him dictating his life story to a scribe.
 
Well, he might have different opinions than some of us

Anyway, I had to DNF Memory of Souls, which was disappointing because I really enjoyed the first book, but some of the stuff got too complicated for my taste, so instead I'm going to be reading Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
 

jpfriction

(He, Him)
Well the series isn't finished yet but don't hold your breath on him not doing stuff like conquering a race of amazon women by sexing them real good.
 

Lokii

(He/Him)
Staff member
Moderator
Well the series isn't finished yet but don't hold your breath on him not doing stuff like conquering a race of amazon women by sexing them real good.

Not quite what happens. He merely learns how to be a god of sex from the fairy queen taking him as a concubine in a secret sex pocket dimension for like a year, then he stays with a town of european flavored ninjas where he gets to use his sex skills for good sex while they train him as a ninja and he gets to scoff at how they don't believe sex leads to pregnancy.
 

Bulgakov

Yes, that Russian author.
(He/Him)
Not quite what happens. He merely learns how to be a god of sex from the fairy queen taking him as a concubine in a secret sex pocket dimension for like a year, then he stays with a town of european flavored ninjas where he gets to use his sex skills for good sex while they train him as a ninja and he gets to scoff at how they don't believe sex leads to pregnancy.


Geez. Spoilers.
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
He also doesn't quite understand why the girl he's been pining over for two books doesn't appreciate his story about that.
 
Top