The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Good morning Cantina. Happy Monday.

This may make me a bad adult, but this season's new anime are making me a very happy me. It's been a while since I have had this many series I was either trying to keep up with or was anxiously awaiting completion of so I could binge them.

Can I have a glass of mead and three shots of "fantasy recommendations from the last 5 years that have compelling character dynamics without being terribly sexual or gross" please?

Fresh Meat!!! Welcome to the Cantina, where you CAN come in, but you CAN NEVER go out.

*Evil Laughter*

My fav series is Kate Daniels, very urban fantasy and there is some sex, but it's not a focus and can be easily skipped if desired. Also, the husband and wife dynamic writing duo have another series called Innkeeper which sounds very science fiction, but reads very much like fantasy, so it's good. I'll have to come up with more things I like.

PS: It's been kind of quiet around here.

Five years you say?

*checks publication dates on last few Terry Pratchett books*

...*just shoves entire Pratchett collection at Sam anyway*

Welcome to the Cantina!

Here I am, all fresh and meaty! *strikes a pose*

Thank you for the recommendation! It sounds good already, I'm making a list for my next trip to the library...

And well, quiet can be good. I myself have a dangerous habit of slipping into capslock when I'm excited so who knows how long it will hold...

I think the most recent example I can think of of character dynamics that I enjoyed was "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie, but I stopped enjoying that series after the first book

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Maggie Maxwell said:

Five years you say?

*checks publication dates on last few Terry Pratchett books*

...*just shoves entire Pratchett collection at Sam anyway*

Welcome to the Cantina!

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I've read tons of Pratchett! Only he's too popular for me to use as a comp title, I think? ;_; I do love him though, especially the first half of good omens...

Sam Artisan said:

Can I have a glass of mead and three shots of "fantasy recommendations from the last 5 years that have compelling character dynamics without being terribly sexual or gross" please?

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Hi newbie! The most recent book in "The Queen's Thief" series by Megan Whalen Turner is from last year, but you really need to have read them all, not just to understand what's going on, but because they are all AWESOMESAUCE and a reading necessity. *nods* So... *slides entire series your way* The character dynamics are SUPER compelling, and I too prefer things not to get terribly sexual or gross, and Turner has proven herself trustworthy in both those areas.


What can I say, except...

Thank you muchly! I've added that to my list I cant wait to get started!

I so love when my brain misinterprets images.

That pic is totally a dude using a back hair remover and not a dog wearing sunglasses howling at the sun.

*Goes and puts herself in the corner*

Sam Artisan said:

Can I have a glass of mead and three shots of "fantasy recommendations from the last 5 years that have compelling character dynamics without being terribly sexual or gross" please?

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Depends on how you define gross.

The Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch (I include it because the lastest book to be released was less than 5 years ago, and more still awaiting release)
It does contain tons of swearing, but as one reviewer notes the author "elevates profanity and vulgarity to an artform."

The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. Probably already familiar with it, but definitely worth the time it takes to read these monstrous things.

*scans the rest of my already read list*

Welp, I need to find some stand alone books that have been released recently.

Justobuddies said:

Depends on how you define gross.

The Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch (I include it because the lastest book to be released was less than 5 years ago, and more still awaiting release)
It does contain tons of swearing, but as one reviewer notes the author "elevates profanity and vulgarity to an artform."

The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson. Probably already familiar with it, but definitely worth the time it takes to read these monstrous things.

*scans the rest of my already read list*

Welp, I need to find some stand alone books that have been released recently.

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That Scott Lynch one sounds really good! i'm adding it to my list. (##edit: Ah! I actually have read The Lies of Locke Lamora. It was certainly interesting!)

Brandon Sanderson is for sure one of my top 3 fantasy authors! I'm in the middle of reading "Shadows of Self," but The Way of Kings is my favorite

I was gonna say the Gentleman Bastards as well. Also, to my eye at least, Carol Berg's Sanctuary duet (though more the first than the second).

A sunny Monday afternoon, and debating a nap - sunny weather tends to do a number on my energy, especially coming off so much cruddy gray weather.

Or maybe I'm just lazy.

Already did the store run, and got lunch out of the deal (plus a couple books from Half Price Books that I need like a hole in the head, and a half-off set of Prismacolors I need like I needed more books), so I have no big plans until I have to start dinner. Should be doing site work or story revisions... but, again, there's that lazy thing. Doesn't help that I lost sleep last night to more coughing. Again. The danged night cough just doesn't want to let go..

Away I drift.

*pokes head up from smibbles*
*shakes fist at work*
*sinks back into smibbles*

An interview I did was just posted to Geek Radio Daily. Now, mind you, it was recorded last July, but if you're really bored, you might enjoy it (and Rich wouldn't mind the hits on his site either). So, for the 97% of you who've never met me, you can at least hear what I sound like (and luckily, Rich edited my babbling into something coherent).

[url]http://www.geekradiodaily.com/2018/04/23/grd-special-interview-richard-c-white/
[/URL]

Justobuddies said:

Can I be jealous of only tens of thousands of dollars in Student Loan debt? I owe twice as much in student loans as on my house, definitely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range. I'll be paying on it until I die, thanks interest.

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Yeah, I probably shouldn't complain about student debt... Not sure what my total is ($40k maybe? I don't know) but at least in Australia, I only have to pay it back when I'm earning over a certain amount per year. So while I remain unemployed, no repayments needed. Definitely feel bad for those of you with huge debts, though... Especially as these days a university qualification is just 1 step beyond completely useless... *sigh*

In other news, I created an elf sorcerer in Neverwinter Nights who has 2-weapon fighting with 2 longswords. This makes me ridiculously happy... She's a merging of my 2-longsword elf fighter and halfling wizard. Both of those characters were from a time before I started backing stuff up religiously... The halfling wizard was my first ever playthrough (and first exposure to D&D), and the 2-longsword elf fighter was my second playthrough and my first ever wish-fulfillment character. So yes. A sorcerer who just happens to wield 2 longswords? Shut up and take my money!

In other other news, though, Neverwinter Nights 2 is still being glitchy. Whenever my character moves, it's not a fluid movement, but rather stuttery... *sigh* I had this problem in the past, but can't remember what I did to fix it. I also started playing Darksiders on the XBox 360 for the first time. Seems like a fun game, but not sure how often I'll play it.

I'm also mulling over how to actually make a living as a pianist. It's my primary skill at this point, but I have no idea how I'm ever going to make a living on keys... Selling albums online, sure, okay - same as uploading to YouTube. But that won't cut it, I expect... *sigh*

Last five years? Hmmm... Aeronaut's Windlass is recent, but steampunk rather than fantasy. Name of the Wind is 10 years at least... but excellent. I'm afraid I'm horribly behind on my reading

Cliff Face said:

I'm also mulling over how to actually make a living as a pianist. It's my primary skill at this point, but I have no idea how I'm ever going to make a living on keys... Selling albums online, sure, okay - same as uploading to YouTube. But that won't cut it, I expect... *sigh*

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Any recording studios in your area? Studio musician gigs aren't necessarily fun, you won't get you any recognition for what you do, and you'll get to see the ugly side of the musicians appearing on the radio...but it's a paycheck if you pass the audition.

Morning Cantina. Yeeeeeeerg, I'm so sleepy this morning. Didn't help that I dreamed a whole bunch last night and that makes it hard to get the fog out of my brain.

Anyway...Puppy's very first bath went fine yesterday. We decided to do it on the porch with the gate closed because we realized if we did it in the kiddy pool we might end up having to chase her around the yard. She wasn't super happy about getting sprayed with the hose until she was soaked, but wasn't traumatized by it either. The soaping her up was actually the easy part, then once she was rinsed (during which I got sprayed in the face once by accident) she enjoyed getting rubbed down with the towels and wanted to play, so I just got her to play fetch until she was both air dried and tired enough to nap for a bit.

We also went shopping for the various flowers, herbs, and veggies my mom wants to plant and got so many we had to make two trips to get them home. They're very purty.

Somehow, between all that^ I also got good wordage in yesterday and am 451 words away from reaching my Camp Nano goal! Don't know if I'll get there today or not, but since it's rainy and we're not going anywhere that I know of, I hope I will.

greendragon said:

Last five years? Hmmm... Aeronaut's Windlass is recent, but steampunk rather than fantasy. Name of the Wind is 10 years at least... but excellent. I'm afraid I'm horribly behind on my reading

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I read the Aeronaut's Windlass! It wasn't bad and I do loooove the name of the wind...

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of hilarious flat-Earth arguments on Youtube.

Please send help. And brain bleach.

Oh no, Lissibith, you brought that onto yourself.

Suffer. Suffer the fools.

Lissibith said:

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of hilarious flat-Earth arguments on Youtube.

Please send help. And brain bleach.

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I often wonder what the line is between wilful ignorance and elaborate trolling when it comes to Flat-Earthers. I've watched a few with my teenager and I truly can't tell sometimes. Just find yourself a nice beach somewhere where you can watch a cruise ship or some other large vessel literally disappear over the horizon and you'll regain sanity.

tjwriter said:

Oh no, Lissibith, you brought that onto yourself.

Suffer. Suffer the fools.

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If we were talking logically, that is fair. But there is no logic here. Logic is a dream born in the depths of a fever, false and fleeting in the face of "if gravity can hold the oceans on, how come birds can fly?"

Justobuddies said:

I often wonder what the line is between wilful ignorance and elaborate trolling when it comes to Flat-Earthers. I've watched a few with my teenager and I truly can't tell sometimes. Just find yourself a nice beach somewhere where you can watch a cruise ship or some other large vessel literally disappear over the horizon and you'll regain sanity.

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I cling to the hope that most of these are trolling. But I fear that they may all be serious. I am not sure if I feel like I know more or less than I did before I started...

Lissibith said:

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

I've fallen down the rabbit hole of hilarious flat-Earth arguments on Youtube.

Please send help. And brain bleach.

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I hope it's not too deep of a rabbit-hole, or else you'll fall through the other side and...

...actually, I dunno. Maybe there's gravity on the other side of the flat Earth. Or just a vast, empty void. Or water. Or lava.

Justobuddies said:

Just find yourself a nice beach somewhere where you can watch a cruise ship or some other large vessel literally disappear over the horizon and you'll regain sanity.

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You see, gravity makes things fall. Therefore, the light that goes into our eyes is falling. Ever so slightly, because it's very light, of course. All this lightness is light. So when the light reflected off distant things enters our eyes, it's fallen just a little, which makes the Earth look curved.

I may have gotten the logic backwards, but it's there. Somewhere. Or something like logic.

lilyWhite said:

I hope it's not too deep of a rabbit-hole, or else you'll fall through the other side and...

...actually, I dunno. Maybe there's gravity on the other side of the flat Earth. Or just a vast, empty void. Or water. Or lava.

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My money is on four elephants and a turtle, but the prevailing opinion I've come across seems to be "Hell" or "The rest of a giant silica-based tree, the broken branches of which we call mountains.

lilyWhite said:

You see, gravity makes things fall. Therefore, the light that goes into our eyes is falling. Ever so slightly, because it's very light, of course. All this lightness is light. So when the light reflected off distant things enters our eyes, it's fallen just a little, which makes the Earth look curved.

I may have gotten the logic backwards, but it's there. Somewhere. Or something like logic.

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I think that's close, except it's not gravity, because these videos inform me gravity is fake. It is instead a force that happens to act exactly like gravity, except that science hasn't gotten its dirty "theories" into it. Somehow...