Robert Jordan : Clothing :: GRRM : Food

Rand rounded the corner and saw several slavering trollocs surrounding Moiraine, her eyes flashing, head held high, blue gem glinting from the delicate gold chain that was threaded in her dark hair which hung in ringlets to her shoulders. Her blue silk dress with narrow skirts divided for riding had flowers embroidered on the sleeves and as she raised her arm to throw a fireball, he saw the gold ring on her finger shaped like a serpent eating its own---OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE NO ONE CARES WHAT SHE'S WEARING WHAT ABOUT THE TROLLOCS?!

I am reading these books again now that Brandon Sanderson is finishing the series in a timely manner. I can't believe it's been thirteen years and nobody has done anything about the HORRIBLE COVER ART.

"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst."

I didn't realize how much everything has been influenced by this novel.

Probably the most thought-provoking sci-fi I have read in years.

Update: Not going to finish it, so I downgraded to the dread one-star --- meaning, in my Goodreads anyway, that I could not get through it. And I really hate not to get through a book that I paid cash money for. I really wanted to read this right now with all the hype for the show, and I was 13th in line to borrow the e-book from my local library, so I paid a whole $4.99 to get the Kindle book from Amazon. That is $4.99 that would have been better spent buying crack cocaine for babies.

I have no patience for writers who can't think of anyway to motivate characters other than rape. You see this mostly in fanfiction (I quipped on my facebook page, "WTF is this, Braveheart fanfic?) with novice writers who can't think of anything besides rape that might give a female character a weighty backstory. Sexual assault should always be handled with care in fiction, because it's almost always a lazy writer's crutch. Imagine my surprise when, in this book, it's not only the motivator for the female lead but for the male lead as well -- Jamie's backstory is pretty much entirely tied up in his sister's rape by Randall, and most of his action in the story of the novel is taken up by trying to prevent Claire from being raped (see also: preventing Claire from being burnt at the stake).

In this book:

1. Claire goes through the henge, time travels to the 17th century, immediately encounters Randall who begins tearing her clothes off and attempting to rape her.

2. The Scots clansmen rescue her. show more On of them suggests that they should go ahead and finish the job Randall started but the rest of the men are pretty decent and shush him up.

3. She goes back to Castle Leoch with these people. While wandering in the corridors after a party, some drunken Highlanders corner her and try to rape her.

4. She tries to escape from the castle, but encounters Jamie in the stables. He insists on walking her back to the castle because she might get raped on the way if he doesn't. Sure enough, some rapey dudes are hanging out and harass her on the way back. Good thing Jamie is there!

5. She ends up married to Jamie. They are going at it in a copse of trees when all of a sudden two English soldiers show up with muskets, and attempt to rape Claire. Fortunately, she has a knife so she stabs one of them and I think Jamie takes out the other one.

6. She tries to run away again, gets caught by Randall AGAIN, and he attempts to rape her . . . AGAIN. Jamie shows up to save her.

7. Jamie beats her with a belt for running away.

8. A few days later Jamie (her husband) rapes her twice. (Once he refuses to cease sexual activity when Claire asks him to stop; and once he begins having sex with her after she tells him she doesn't want to.)

9. Jamie tells that he exercised considerable restraint by not having sex with her immediately after beating her with the belt, because beating her turned him on. When Claire points out that he doesn't get a goddamn cookie for not raping her in addition to assaulting her, his response is along the lines of "Aww yuir me cute sassenach och aye."

It's OK to like things that are problematic. I like things that are problematic all the time, like Twilight for instance, or food that isn't locally sourced. But this is just lazy storytelling hiding behind the handwave of "Oh but that's just how the 17th century was." Here are some scenarios that might have been much more realistic for 18th century Scotland:

1. Claire gets her period in 18th century Scotland but tampons haven't been invented yet. What does she do?!

2. Claire steps on a rusty needle, wound gets infected, dies.

3. Claire is thrown from a horse because she's constantly on horseback though she admits not knowing how to ride. She cracks her skull open, and dies.

4. Claire is not allowed to run the infirmary at Castle Leoch because whoever heard of a woman doctor, that's ridiculous!

Verdict: Read [b:Doomsday Book|24983|Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel, #1)|Connie Willis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403972500s/24983.jpg|2439628] instead. show less

Why is South Africa such an excellent cyberpunk setting? Cf [b:Moxyland|3491640|Moxyland|Lauren Beukes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328732006s/3491640.jpg|3533237]

Initial thoughts: Writing, tone, pace, setting, and fresh look at gender roles make this reminiscent of Le Guin's [b:The Left Hand of Darkness|18423|The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle, #4)|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388229638s/18423.jpg|817527]. That is a great thing. Can't wait to spend more time with it.

Finished reading: this was fantastic. Highly recommended.

The Hunger Games again, only this time with a boy, and on Mars, and not as good. I'm hoping for a major plot twist to improve this soon (I'm about halfway through), because otherwise I'm going to be extremely disappointed with a totally derivative novel.

Contains weird discrepancies that are just super sloppy. The protagonist sees smoke "20 kilometers away" and laments that it's too far to go without horses, then on the next page claims he can run 1 kilometer per minute. He describes Lea killing her "first sheep" and then, on the same page, "We do not kill the sheep." Did an editor look at this?

Surprised it came so highly recommended to me.

I'm giving this four stars for now because it was a very enjoyable read. I found the writing style concise and charming. Includes great practical tips for how to rid yourself of life detritus that you really don't need. I have trouble parting with things that have sentimental value to me, so I will be able to make use of the tips on how to get rid of that kind of stuff.

It was also reassuring to learn that other people do the same things I do, like stuff their closet so full they have a hard time taking out a dress, or putting their clean laundry in a pile instead of folding and putting it away. I always thought I was the only person in the world who was THAT slovenly.

I'm reserving the option to come back and upgrade to five stars if, after tidying, I find my life really is changed.

Warcross is an engrossing YA litrpg romance. It felt a little like [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One|Ernest Cline|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500930947s/9969571.jpg|14863741] in a good way. The romance felt slightly formulaic, hence the 4- rather than 5-star review. Really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I'm glad I finally finished this after a long hiatus (I don't commute as much as I used to and I listened to this audiobook while commuting). Cixin Liu is China's most famous and best-selling science fiction author.

The backdrop of this novel alternates between a 20-minutes-from-now near future China and China during the Cultural Revolution. In the past, astrophysicist and accidental political dissident Ye Wenjie finds herself exiled to Red Coast Base where the Chinese government is covertly using a giant radio antenna to send messages into space. In the present day, nanomaterial scientist Wang Miao is desperately trying to get to the bottom of why scientists all over the world are committing suicide. (Wang Miao is aided by the grizzled detective Da Shi, who runs away with every scene he is in.)

I went into this book knowing almost nothing about the plot so I won't go into greater detail. It's a great mix of science fiction/murder mystery/historical fiction with a touch of LitRPG besides.

One caveat, is the science fiction parts are HARD science fiction. The plot is driven by points that involve astrophysics, nanomaterial science, quantum entanglement, and multidimensional atomic physics. (And, obviously, the titular math problem.) The science is used and explained in such a credible way that I'm not clear on what was totally fictitious and what might really be possible in the near future (i.e., things that are solidly theoretical now that we may be able to test in the show more future). If you hate hard SF, avoid. show less

A really solid space opera with noir and horror elements.

Better than The Shining Girls.

A depressing portrait of race relations and family relations in post-Apartheid South Africa (ala Gordimer's The House Gun). Part of what is so depressing is how obtuse the characters are---not the way they're written, because they're written brilliantly---but how obscure and incomprehensible their motivations and decisions are to each other and to the reader.

Daughter Lucy can't understand her father's abject refusal to defend himself in the face of a scandal. Father David can't understand his daughter's refusal to report the vicious crime that has been perpetrated against her. Somehow, their reasons are strikingly similar. David's steadfastness stems from refusing to see that the country has changed around him, rendering his sense of privilege obsolete; Lucy refuses to see that the country hasn't changed as much as her ideals would lead her to believe. Both are clinging to a hopelessly romantic ideal; their blindness and its consequences are heartbreaking. A textbook example of tragedy.

As a teen I read [b:Mind of My Mind|116254|Mind of My Mind (Patternmaster, #2)|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389676159s/116254.jpg|111957] and [b:Patternmaster|116256|Patternmaster (Patternmaster, #4)|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389456750s/116256.jpg|1119636] but never read Wild Seed or [b:Clay's Ark|60933|Clay's Ark (Patternmaster, #3)|Octavia E. Butler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389456749s/60933.jpg|1008173] from the same series. Now is my chance to rectify this oversight. Amazon is selling all 4 as a single Kindle book for $9.99 -- highly recommended!

Wild Seed is not as good as other books in the series but an interesting read nonetheless.

This was a lot like [b:The Lies of Locke Lamora|127455|The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1)|Scott Lynch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924569s/127455.jpg|2116675] except with a woman instead of a man as the main character, and with sexing instead of thieving. In short, it was better in every way.

Remender Deadpool is the best Deadpool.

The entire series is available on Marvel Unlimited, so do not pay for the overpriced omnibus.

Time slows down as matter approaches the speed of light (E=mc2). The soliders in this war chronicle (and it is a "war chronicle" more than a "sci fi" novel, though it's really both) get shunted around the galaxy at faster-than-light speeds in order to battle the little-seen Taurans, an alien race that has apparently been blowing up human starships around collapsar gates in space (think Mass Effect, if you've played it). Will Mandella is drafted and participates in the conflict with the Taurans for 1143 years, though only 4 years pass for him due to the effects of time dilation.

This book was written in the 1970s after author Joe Haldeman returned from the Vietnam War, but the message is still very relevant today: that war changes everything it touches so profoundly that you can never really come home to what you left.

"Every generation loses the Messiah it has failed to deserve."

First of all, Chabon never uses 1 word where 12 will do, and that drives me nuts.

Second of all, I'm not sure I understand why this won the Hugo and the Nebula. There's not much sci-fi or fantasy about it; although it takes place in an alternate United States---in which the Slattery Report was implemented and millions of European Jews were relocated to Sitka, Alaska, in the aftermath of WWII. That sounds like a lot, but really this is a detective novel first and a love story second.

All that said, I think the movie will be good. This is right up the Coen Brothers' ally.

Wish I read this before The City & the City, as I think this is where Miéville got the idea. . . .

I think I read this in 2003 when it first came out, but now that I'm reading it I'm honestly not sure. This has to be the least memorable book I've ever read. I read 200 pages of it on Sunday and I already forgot what happened. Oh, wait, I remember. Elayne complained about how uncomfortable it is to be pregnant, rearranged her skirts, and folded her arms under her breasts. Perrin swore that nothing was more important than getting Faile back, while scratching his beard. Mat grew increasingly uncomfortable around the Daughter of the Nine Moons, who he is destined to marry, even though she looks like a bald teenage boy.

Repeat, ad nauseum, for 800 pages.

I was so fed up with this book back when I first read it (I think) that I never read book 11, which I now hear is much better. In any case, I'm going to slog through to book 12, where Sanderson takes over, and hope for the best.

This book was good, but a little bit over hyped. It came to me with many glowing recommendations; even the guy at the bookstore made a big fuss about how I would really enjoy it.

The milieu is rich and the plot is engaging, but I found the narrator to be kind of unlikeable. There were several occasions (I can think of three specifically, but I feel like there were perhaps half a dozen in all) where he makes a statement and then follows it up with "But I don't expect you to understand." Could you be a little more condescending? For instance (paraphrasing): "I opened my lute case because I felt it would enjoy a little bit of sun. If you're not a musician, I don't expect you to understand this." Jerk.

Maybe that's the point? The guy is kind of an arrogant little twat as a child, and he periodically gets his comeuppance and learns his lesson but then five minutes later he goes back to being a reckless d*****. Maybe this is why guys love this book so much. He's like a male Bella Swan: talented in every way, all women love him (except he's always oblivious), he's great at everything he touches, he's smarter, and faster to learn, than everyone---including his teachers---and constantly outsmarting everyone around him, and he always knows better than everyone else. He just has that one fatal flaw (Bella's prone to falling over for no reason, Kvothe's a d*****).

I'm going off on this poor guy but it was actually a reasonably entertaining read. Just like Fargo, though, it couldn't show more live up to all the hype. I'll probably read the second one as long as this guy doesn't go all George R. R. Martin on us.

TL;DR: Kvothe is a d*****bag. show less

Glad to have this series behind me AFTER 20 YEARS.

This is the first published novel written by a friend of mine (RLPGers, take a closer look at the byline) and I was privileged to get an advanced read. This is an excellent paranormal romance. I think anyone who likes the Sookie Stackhouse books or Anita Blake books would enjoy it. Give it a try!

[a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] calls this book "a truly great anti-fantasy" and that's just what it is. A cyberpunk, steampunk industrial revolution set in a grim, gritty faerie world where child labor is used to make war machines that, among other things, harvest human children from the mundane world. The main character, Jane, is one of these changelings and this is her coming-of-age story as a human in this bizarre magical faerie world.

I feel like this could use a re-read to fully absorb.

Dear Vintage International and translator Phillip Gabriel:

Nonplussed means to be taken aback, completely perplexed, at a loss for what to do or say.

It does not mean to be unfazed.

Way to ruin the climax of this book, by stating that the monster was totally unaffected by being stabbed repeatedly. In fact, it was so oblivious to being stabbed that it was NONPLUSSED.

What?

The first book was compelling enough for me to pick up the second, but only just. This one was not compelling enough for me to pick up the third. I hate to leave a trilogy unfinished but I'm just so underwhelmed that I'm moving on to something else. Two stars because I was able to finish it.

I'm still not sure what happened in this book.

I put this on my Bechdel Test shelf even though there is no way for us to ever know whether this series passes or not.

"The square root sign is a generous symbol, it gives shelter to all the numbers."


This book was a birthday present from my dad, a mathematician. I can't understand math at all, and he has tried to teach me more than once, so I'm sure that aspect resonated for him. I read it all in one sitting, though the sitting ended at 2am.

Ogawa puts me more in mind of Kawabata than Murakami: the way all the elements are presented simply, straightforwardly, and then coalesce into something much greater than the sum of the parts.

Unfortunately, some things that were supposed to be revelatory later on were very obvious from about page 4. I hate telescoped punches. They ruined the last 1/3 Possession for me, but that's another story.

This is my favorite edition of Beowulf. Seamus Heaney's verse translation is amazing, the marginal gloss helps to keep track of important plot developments, and the original old English text on facing pages is a nice touch.

I've always wanted to read the Tolkien prose translation but I have never been able to find it. Of the verse translations I have read, this is the best.

I was going to read Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson's quintessential cyberpunk tome, but my husband suggested I read The Diamond Age instead. I found it to be an interesting mix of steampunk and cyberpunk aesthetic, though anyone looking for a "primer" on cyberpunk might be better off with [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634].

The Diamond Age follows an indigent little girl named Nell, living in Shanghai in the twenty-first century, into whose hands falls A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer: a high-tech, interactive training device that is being relentlessly pursued by a number of diverse characters.