Hitmen for Destiny (Thorsby; TvTropes; this was good but not as good as The Accidental Space Spy, since the art remains as dire, Thorsby again indulges in an overly-long comedy-of-errors, and the monsters aren’t quite as fascinating as the aliens in Space Spy, although on the plus side, it still has everything that I like about Thorsby (eg I loved the Mexican standoff with 2 possibly-loaded guns towards the end) with a more coherent and meaningful story.)
Making my way through Maurice Druon’s The Accursed Kings (currently on Book 4). It’s a bit of historical fiction covering the plots and politicking that followed the reign of Philip the Fair of France and would eventually culminate in the Hundred Years’ War.
I’m enjoying it. It paints an engaging portrait of medieval France and there are many historical footnotes giving context and explanations that would otherwise clutter the main text. The series moves at a decent pace and doesn’t get bogged down in fluff.
I found it dry. For people who find it dry too, I can recommend as an alternative Robert Merle’s Fortune de France series set a few centuries later but still in recognizably medievalish circumstances. It is more colorful, more of a swordplay-and-sex swashbucklerish feel.
I have just spotted that Marina and Sergei Dyachenko’s Metamorphosis cycle is being translated into English. The first book is Vita Nostra; I would very much recommend it, especially to anyone that enjoyed Max Barry’s “Lexicon”.
Fiction Books Thread
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Liu’s The Three-Body Problem
Wildbow’s Pact (review)
The Accidental Space Spy (Thorsby; review)
Hitmen for Destiny (Thorsby; TvTropes; this was good but not as good as The Accidental Space Spy, since the art remains as dire, Thorsby again indulges in an overly-long comedy-of-errors, and the monsters aren’t quite as fascinating as the aliens in Space Spy, although on the plus side, it still has everything that I like about Thorsby (eg I loved the Mexican standoff with 2 possibly-loaded guns towards the end) with a more coherent and meaningful story.)
Welcome to the NHK
Making my way through Maurice Druon’s The Accursed Kings (currently on Book 4). It’s a bit of historical fiction covering the plots and politicking that followed the reign of Philip the Fair of France and would eventually culminate in the Hundred Years’ War.
I’m enjoying it. It paints an engaging portrait of medieval France and there are many historical footnotes giving context and explanations that would otherwise clutter the main text. The series moves at a decent pace and doesn’t get bogged down in fluff.
I found it dry. For people who find it dry too, I can recommend as an alternative Robert Merle’s Fortune de France series set a few centuries later but still in recognizably medievalish circumstances. It is more colorful, more of a swordplay-and-sex swashbucklerish feel.
I have just spotted that Marina and Sergei Dyachenko’s Metamorphosis cycle is being translated into English. The first book is Vita Nostra; I would very much recommend it, especially to anyone that enjoyed Max Barry’s “Lexicon”.