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Post by stevemitchell on May 5, 2019 15:15:20 GMT -6
Cataclysm by David Keys. The author finds evidence for a comet or meteor strike near Java in about 535-540 A.D., with consequent climatic and ecological impacts and their influence on history. Wide ranging and very interesting.
William and Mary by Tony Claydon and W. A. Speck. This volume provides short parallel biographies of the English monarchs who came to the throne following the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688. (Whig apologists to the contrary, it wasn’t Glorious, and it wasn’t Bloodless, either, but that’s another story. . . .)
The First Fast Draw by Louis L’Amour. An entertaining read about the Texas gunman Cullen Baker, but much less accurate in its presentation of Western history than most of L’Amour’s books. L’Amour applies the whitewash liberally; in reality, Baker was a notorious drunkard and backshooter. L’Amour similarly presents a romanticized view of Wild Bill Longley, another psychopathic desperado from the Reconstruction era.
Black Vulmea’s Vengeance by Robert E. Howard. Black Vulmea was one of Howard’s lesser-known series characters, a 17th Century Irish pirate appearing in only two stories (and only one of these was published during his lifetime). A third tale, concerning the female pirate Helen Tavrel, rounds out the set. Interesting, but far from being Howard’s best work.
Mysteries of the Worm by Robert Bloch. The third, expanded edition of the Chaosium title, collecting all of Mr. Bloch’s short fiction relating to the Cthulhu Mythos. Lots of eldritch fun!
The Black Diary by Nick Redfern. Mr. Redfern has written several previous books on the subject of the Men in Black (and one on the Women in Black!). Here, he recounts odd events and synchronicities in his own life, and in the lives of some of his friends and correspondents, that seemingly relate to the MiB.
King John by Marc Morris. A biography of one of England’s least esteemed kings. A good read, marred somewhat, in my opinion, by a split chronological approach. I also thought W. L. Warren’s earlier life of John provided more insight into John’s peculiar character.
Strange Ways by Bryan Smith. The three witches known as the Sisters of the Endless Night move into a Nashville suburb, triggering a wave of depravity, murder, and torture. The usual wholesome read from Mr. Smith.
The Golden Age of Weird Fiction Megapack Vol. 6 by Clark Ashton Smith. A good if somewhat random collection of Smith’s fiction—both A Rendezvous in Averoigne and The Dark Eidolon probably work better as “best of/introduction to Smith” volumes.
O Fortunate Floridian by H. P. Lovecraft. A large collection of Lovecraft’s letters to his young friend Robert H. Barlow.
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Post by geoffrey on May 5, 2019 19:59:09 GMT -6
I am reading The Rise of Athens: The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization by Anthony Everitt, which recounts the history of classical Athens (circa 510 B. C. to 323 B. C.).
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Post by doublejig2 on May 6, 2019 13:59:52 GMT -6
Just finished, Roll the Bones Fight On! compilation. Mixed feelings about that anthology. I'd say I like about half the stories I thought the book was worth the price. The stories were a pleasant change from straight up CA Smith, for example. I just needed relief.
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Post by makofan on May 6, 2019 15:24:13 GMT -6
Well then, I am glad you liked it. My issue was when they put out a call for stories, the intent was to have pulpy swords & sorcery stuff, but then half of the stories were nowhere near that. That being said, I think "When Pell Left" is brilliant, even if it did not fit the initial concept of the anthology
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Post by doublejig2 on May 13, 2019 20:48:09 GMT -6
Just finished KOBOLD Guide to World Building
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Post by doublejig2 on May 14, 2019 9:25:07 GMT -6
Just finished KOBOLD Guide to World Building What did you think of it? Most of it was stuff I already had and the book is expensive. Having said that, it's probably the best overall treatment in disparate essays that I've read. This quote is lovely for example: 'City states war, villages burn, and the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Stories are about heroes and the fate of nations' - Jonathan Roberts And also useful is the emphasis on 'location, character, and conflict' - Wolfgang Baur I think the book would be difficult for someone just starting out; it rewards prior knowledge and efforts.
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Post by doublejig2 on May 19, 2019 13:31:04 GMT -6
Reading: KOBOLD Guide to Combat KOBOLD Guide to Gamemastering KOBOLD Guide to Plots & Campaigns
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Post by tetramorph on May 20, 2019 11:56:32 GMT -6
Just finished KOBOLD Guide to World Building My best take away from that book was a nifty chapter on the creative process. I still refer to my notes on that chapter. Mainly, it helps remind me that taking breaks, letting things go for a while, is actually essential to the synthetic part of the process. The rest seemed more appropriate to story-gaming. And, I agree -- it was too expensive.
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terje
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Blasphemous accelerator
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Post by terje on May 24, 2019 12:59:00 GMT -6
Summerland by Hannu Rajaniemi, a spiritualist spy thriller in an alternative 1938 where the afterlife is a new frontier in the struggle between the British Empire and the Soviet Union.
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Post by doublejig2 on May 31, 2019 12:12:15 GMT -6
Socratic Logic, Peter Kreeft; an eye opening primer for anyone interested in philosophy
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2019 16:47:35 GMT -6
Starting "The Expanse" this weekend. Expected way less than I got. At least the first book is pretty exceptional, so far. Haven't enjoyed "freighter fiction" this much since some of the mid-90s Han Solo novels. Also on my reading desk: "The Winter King", by Bernard Cornwell. I don't like Cornwell's writing style, necessarily, but I really like the scenarios he lays out to the readers.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2019 15:48:51 GMT -6
'Nother one for you:
The book was amazing, perhaps the single best modern horror novel that I've read until today; I hope the movie does it justice. - Interestingly enough, I didn't particularly like "The Shining", neither as the novel, or as the Kubrick movie. But that book, I LOVED.
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terje
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Blasphemous accelerator
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Post by terje on Jun 17, 2019 7:10:25 GMT -6
Revolutions by Felix Gilman - victorian occultists fighting magic wars in London and astral travelling to the planetary speheres.
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arkansan
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
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Post by arkansan on Jun 17, 2019 23:50:35 GMT -6
Recently finished Ernst Junger's "Storm of Steel", Glenn Cook's "Heirs to Babylon", and Peter Newman's "The Vagrant" as far as fiction goes. In the non fiction field I just finished Bart Ehrman's "Triumph of Christianity", Massimo Pigliucci's "How to be a Stoic", and am working through Archer Jones's "Art of War in the Western World".
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2019 1:30:10 GMT -6
Recently finished Ernst Junger's "Storm of Steel", Glenn Cook's "Heirs to Babylon", and Peter Newman's "The Vagrant" as far as fiction goes. What did you think of these three titles? - Ernst Jünger, of course, doesn't quite win any popularity prizes in Germany, but his book is at least, ugh, authentic. Newman's "Vagrant" is pretty cool, but I have not yet read the sequels. - Finally, Glenn Cook even being one of my favorite writers, and all, I have not yet looked at his sci-fi books; so, I'm quite interested in whether those books a worth a look for me.
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arkansan
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Post by arkansan on Jun 18, 2019 14:25:24 GMT -6
Recently finished Ernst Junger's "Storm of Steel", Glenn Cook's "Heirs to Babylon", and Peter Newman's "The Vagrant" as far as fiction goes. What did you think of these three titles? - Ernst Jünger, of course, doesn't quite win any popularity prizes in Germany, but his book is at least, ugh, authentic. Newman's "Vagrant" is pretty cool, but I have not yet read the sequels. - Finally, Glenn Cook even being one of my favorite writers, and all, I have not yet looked at his sci-fi books; so, I'm quite interested in whether those books a worth a look for me. Junger's work is interesting because by and large he really didn't seem to push any particular agenda or narrative (though he clearly enjoyed his service), rather it just seems to be a recollection of things as best he recalls them. It brings home just how horrific the fighting in that war was. "The Vagrant" was enjoyable, nothing particularly special but solid and an easy reading. I picked up a copy of the sequel "The Malice" a couple of days ago, it's about the same so far, nothing ground breaking but an interesting premise and well written. "The Heirs of Babylon" was.. ok. It's clear that it was Cook's first novel, his style isn't quite fully developed and there are some plot developments at the end that weren't really well foreshadowed or explained at all. Otherwise it's solid.
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Post by doublejig2 on Jun 18, 2019 18:01:27 GMT -6
Currently reading, The Complete Plays of Aristophanes.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2019 2:41:56 GMT -6
What did you think of these three titles? - Ernst Jünger, of course, doesn't quite win any popularity prizes in Germany, but his book is at least, ugh, authentic. Newman's "Vagrant" is pretty cool, but I have not yet read the sequels. - Finally, Glenn Cook even being one of my favorite writers, and all, I have not yet looked at his sci-fi books; so, I'm quite interested in whether those books a worth a look for me. Junger's work is interesting because by and large he really didn't seem to push any particular agenda or narrative (though he clearly enjoyed his service), rather it just seems to be a recollection of things as best he recalls them. It brings home just how horrific the fighting in that war was. "The Vagrant" was enjoyable, nothing particularly special but solid and an easy reading. I picked up a copy of the sequel "The Malice" a couple of days ago, it's about the same so far, nothing ground breaking but an interesting premise and well written. "The Heirs of Babylon" was.. ok. It's clear that it was Cook's first novel, his style isn't quite fully developed and there are some plot developments at the end that weren't really well foreshadowed or explained at all. Otherwise it's solid. Thank you! Noted. - I actually read Jünger a few years back. For Germans, I'd say that there is definitely some nazi/German imperialist dogwhistle to be found in his writings - but then, the book was released in 1922, IIRC. It's like reading "Dracula", and wondering why the depictions of women are "kind of antiquated". If you like, check out Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quieet on the Western Front"; it's somewhat like the sister/mirror book to Jünger's. Certainly one of the most impacting books I've ever read. Of your list, "The Vagrant" is what almost interests me most: I remember it as a more coherent "Vampire Hunter D", and I think I will go back to it, some day. Another, more fantasy-ish series of the same kind is "The Nameless Dwarf", which I also like to file under "guilty pleasure". - As to Cook, I had heard that his first novels were, well, still in a somewhat experimental stage. Taking into account what you wrote, I will probably not prioritize this book over others, for some time.
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Post by stevemitchell on Jun 27, 2019 1:49:03 GMT -6
H. P. Lovecraft: The Decline of the West by S. T. Joshi. An important work on Lovecraft, originally published nearly 30 years ago, and now available in reprint. Joshi looks at the areas of metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and politics in Lovecraft’s writings, first from his letters and essays, and second from his stories. Joshi concludes with a section detailing the influence of Spengler’s gloomy historical analysis, The Decline of the West, on Lovecraft’s writings.
The Forbidden Garden by John Taine. An old-fashioned lost race novel from Taine. His heroes (and heroine) trek far into the mountains of Central Asia, and discover a hidden valley where plant life and human life have been strangely mutated by the effects of extraterrestrial radiation (brought to Earth by a colliding body millions of years previously).
The Further Adventures of Solar Pons by Basil Copper. The second volume in the collected Solar Pons mysteries written by Copper. (Pons was a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, originally created by August Derleth; his literary career was continued by Copper after Derleth’s passing.)
Those Dreadful Eltdown Shards by Franklin Searight and His Hoodlum Pals. A big collection of Cthulhu Mythos stories focusing on the disturbing and debatable Eltdown Shards, the mysterious world of Yith, and the time-traveling Great Race.
The Californios by Louis L’Amour. An interesting change of time and place for Mr. L’Amour—the story is set in and around Los Angeles in 1845, with two factions contending for the ownership of a Malibu ranch and a possible treasure in gold. With some rather spooky elements involving the Old Ones who lived in the area before the Indians (not the Lovecraftian Old Ones, though).
Aces Against Japan II: The American Aces Speak, edited by Eric Hammel. More personal narratives from Army, Marine, and Navy pilots who flew in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
Dodge City by Tom Clavin. A colorful dual biography of Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp, with a particular focus on their years together working as lawmen in Dodge City.
An Eye for an Eye by Anthony Trollope. An Englishman of high degree makes promises (of the marital kind) he can’t or won’t keep; the young lady’s mother is far from pleased. Among Trollope’s more melodramatic novels.
Bomber Command by Max Hastings. This is a history of Britain’s strategic bombing campaign against Germany in World War II, with discussion and analysis of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the campaign. Very good military history.
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. And it’s off to Kukuanaland again with Alan Quatermain, my third or possibly fourth visit. Still one of the all-time great adventure novels.
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Post by geoffrey on Jun 27, 2019 12:49:21 GMT -6
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. And it’s off to Kukuanaland again with Alan Quatermain, my third or possibly fourth visit. Still one of the all-time great adventure novels. Indeed. I also love She. Have you read that one?
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Post by stevemitchell on Jun 27, 2019 14:41:09 GMT -6
You bet! Plus She and Allan, Wisdom's Daughter, The People of the Mist, Eric Brighteyes, The Wanderer's Necklace, Allan's Wife, and many more. Haggard is a long-time personal favorite.
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Post by makofan on Jun 27, 2019 23:12:58 GMT -6
My dad had all the Haggard books - read them all before I even graduated from grade school. Great reads
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2019 22:34:37 GMT -6
A very fantasy-heavy week for me: Restarted "The Vagrant", folllowing the above exchange with the arkansan. Listened to about three dozen German horror audioplays while driving. Reread the first part of "The Magic Goes Away" by Larry Niven, which I like very, very much. (Re-?) Started Bernard Cornwell's "Arthur" series which continues to bore me. Going to go for the audiobook version of Mark Smylie's "The Barrow", next. An incredibly weird and dark take on fantasy, yes, but a complex and sophisticated approach, as well. Have read or partly read the book several times over the last few years. Good sauce, if sometimes really, really bizarre. - Will read the sequel ("Blackheart") later this summer, and want to refresh my memory. (Not necessarily a fan of the "Artesia" comics, either. Bought the novel without knowing the context, or who Smylie was, and really enjoyed it... Back in the day.)
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Post by doublejig2 on Jul 3, 2019 19:33:42 GMT -6
Herodotus and the Thucydides' Peloponnesian War
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Post by Zenopus on Jul 4, 2019 15:31:40 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2019 5:20:02 GMT -6
What did you think of the Saberhagen book, Zenopus? - I'm not sure if I'm a fan of Saberhagen, but I think he is "the big cahuna", between Tolkien, Moorcock, and GRRM, when it comes to who are the most influential fantasy writers of the post-WWII era. That said, I'm not so much a friend of his style, and I consider his characters mostly boring - with the exception of what he does with Dracula. That take is unique and... Pretty awesome.
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Post by tkdco2 on Jul 11, 2019 2:53:59 GMT -6
I'm rereading a couple of books right now. I've had them for years, but they are good resources.
* Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship, by Nicklaus Suino
* Mastering the Samurai Sword, by Cary Nemeroff
I originally bought these books to expand my knowledge in martial arts and learn a few techniques. I recently took a trial class in Iaido, and I decided to keep practicing. So I dug up these books in order to refine my skills.
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Post by geoffrey on Jul 11, 2019 9:24:26 GMT -6
I am re-re-re-re-reading David Lindsay's 1920 classic, A Voyage to Arcturus. Depending on my mood, either that or The Hobbit is my favorite work of fantasy. (For those who have not read both of them, rest assured that they are very different from one another!) When David Lindsay submitted the book for publication, the publisher agreed to print it only if Lindsay cut 15,000 words and changed the title (from Nightspore on Tormance). It is a fantasy of mine for those lost 15,000 words to be reincorporated into the novel and for it to be re-published under its original title on its 100th anniversary in September 2020. I can dream.
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arkansan
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
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Post by arkansan on Jul 24, 2019 23:04:02 GMT -6
Currently reading "1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed" by Eric Cline. I picked it up the other night and have only had time to read the first two chapters, so far I can say it's well written and Cline has an easy to read narrative style.
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Post by Greyharp on Jul 25, 2019 19:11:35 GMT -6
Currently reading "1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed" by Eric Cline. I picked it up the other night and have only had time to read the first two chapters, so far I can say it's well written and Cline has an easy to read narrative style. While I haven't read the book (but really, really want to) I have read excerpts and watched his lecture on the subject - www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRcu-ysocX4 - fascinating stuff that makes a lot of sense. Some great ideas in there too for designing a fantasy world, with insights into the relationships between peoples and nations, the way ruling classes cooperate with those of other nations in order for them to all keep a grip on power, how apocalyptic it can be for everyone when just one domino falls, and ultimately how transformative that collapse can be in terms of human progress. Lots of wonderful chaos for PCs to navigate their way through.
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