Fantasy General

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/3210298

When Terry Pratchett died in 2015, we thought we’d never again get another story from the Discworld creator. But there were secrets to be unearthed.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin currently has the rating of 4.44 on Goodreads. The following books are standalones or first books in a series, as it would be unfair to compare it to the last book in a series, for example the fantastic ending to The Faithful and the Fallen series, Wrath, by John Gwynne, which has a Goodreads rating of 4.51.

Unsurprisingly, Brandon Sanderson features three times on this list! I can’t say I agree with any of these titles being “better”, but the all-knowing Goodreads reviewers might just have some interesting recommendations for A Song of Ice and Fire fans.

Some context from Bruce Sterling on the post.

These are the original ten commandments:

1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.

4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

5. No Chinaman must figure in the story.

6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

7. The detective himself must not commit the crime.

8. The detective is bound to declare any clues upon which he may happen to light.

9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

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Basically, the title. Feel free to have a look and join!

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/4813494

Great deal for a highly rated DRM-free collection of fantasy books

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/4711771

At least some of the signs were desgined by Anders Sandberg:

• Warning Signs for Tomorrow

I found the image on Bruce Sterling's Tumblr.

The source is from u/FuckMyHeart's (reddit user) comment, which has a bit more info:

• FuckMyHeart comments on Fringe Science Warning Signs

From the same comment and user:

• zip file containing each symbol as its own indexed png with transparency

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/3764849

First published in Nature magazine, November 1999.

AD 2380: After a painstaking ten-year search, from the Tibetan highlands to the Brazilian rainforests, it’s official — there are no more human beings.

(...)

RSS Feed https://medium.com/feed/@bruces

Via Ran Prieur - August 9

What have you been reading?

Interestingly, the author of this piece completely fails to mention The Amazing Maurice.

Possibly because this article is completely based on another article from 2021, which is before Maurice came out.

Video description:

An edited, illustrated and narrated playthrough of the game Dwarf Fortress

Sharpen your spears and oil your beards because today, my dwarves, we head into the northern swamps in search of monsters!

Watch as a small band of hunters delve the deepest tunnels in search of quarry! Will they prevail? Or will the nearby shrine's guardian put a swift end to their ambitions?

If you didn't know Kruggsmash and like their videos, it's your lucky day. Take a look at the playlists, there are awesome series there.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51340378-the-mask-of-mirrors?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=pfFhlyMaDY&rank=1

Links:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-mask-of-mirrors

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-mask-of-mirrors

https://www.amazon.ca/Mask-Mirrors-Rook-Rose-Book-ebook/dp/B085C741PZ

https://www.amazon.com/Mask-Mirrors-Rook-Rose-Book-ebook/dp/B085C741PZ