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Ursula K. Le Guin recommended Mary Barton in Books (curated)
Yoko Ono recommended The Carbon Age: How Life's Core Element Has Become Civilizations Greatest Threat in Books (curated)
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Russian Railroads in Tabletop Games
Mar 7, 2018
Russian Railroads
Russian Railroads is the train duo’s first major foray into the world of European game design. Set in Imperialist Russia at the end of the 19th century, the Tsar has ordained a major project: construction of the Trans-Siberia Railroad. To help usher Russia into the modern world, several lines on this railroad must be constructed. As these railroads progress, improvements are made, new industries arise, and brilliant engineers add their expertise, all helping the railroads to expand at an even greater rate. Russia will not be left out of the industrial revolution that is sweeping the world!
Reviewer: gschloesser
Read the full review here: https://opinionatedgamers.com/2014/07/14/russian-railroads/
Reviewer: gschloesser
Read the full review here: https://opinionatedgamers.com/2014/07/14/russian-railroads/
David McK (3425 KP) rated Sourcery: Discworld: The Unseen University Collection in Books
Nov 27, 2022
One of the earliest Discworld (#5) books by the late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett, and it shows.
At this point the series was still very much in its infancy; very much still a parody of classic 'Sword and Sorcery' (especially where Rincewind is concerned) instead of the exploration of the human character it would later become.
Everybody has their own favourite 'subseries' of Discworld novels - The Witches, Stand-alones, Industrial Revolution, City Guards, Death - for me, personally, the Rincewind series has also fallen towards the bottom of that ranking (although they do get better around about the time of Interesting Times).
Having said that, it's still interesting to see the beginnings of Pratchett's evolution of the Discworld here - like any great symphony, they all need to start somewhere!
At this point the series was still very much in its infancy; very much still a parody of classic 'Sword and Sorcery' (especially where Rincewind is concerned) instead of the exploration of the human character it would later become.
Everybody has their own favourite 'subseries' of Discworld novels - The Witches, Stand-alones, Industrial Revolution, City Guards, Death - for me, personally, the Rincewind series has also fallen towards the bottom of that ranking (although they do get better around about the time of Interesting Times).
Having said that, it's still interesting to see the beginnings of Pratchett's evolution of the Discworld here - like any great symphony, they all need to start somewhere!
David McK (3425 KP) rated Moving Pictures in Books
Jul 11, 2021
Discworld Industrial Revolution #1
<2021 update>
I hadn't realised that this book had the first appearance(s) of Ponder Stibbons, Arch-Chancellor Mustrum Ridcully alongside that of Gaspode the Wonder Dog! (well, maybe I knew the latter)
<original review>
Book #10 in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which (for my money) stands alongside Soul Music as one of his best works, perhaps because these are the two books it is easiest to catch the many allusions in!
This is the one where Discworld discovers the magic of the Motion Picture, culminating in a not-quite-right scene of a giant lady carrying a screaming ape up a tall building (Ankh-Morpork's Tower of Art in the Unseen University), and is also, perhaps, the only book where CMOT Dibbler is actually a major character rather than an extra.
I hadn't realised that this book had the first appearance(s) of Ponder Stibbons, Arch-Chancellor Mustrum Ridcully alongside that of Gaspode the Wonder Dog! (well, maybe I knew the latter)
<original review>
Book #10 in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which (for my money) stands alongside Soul Music as one of his best works, perhaps because these are the two books it is easiest to catch the many allusions in!
This is the one where Discworld discovers the magic of the Motion Picture, culminating in a not-quite-right scene of a giant lady carrying a screaming ape up a tall building (Ankh-Morpork's Tower of Art in the Unseen University), and is also, perhaps, the only book where CMOT Dibbler is actually a major character rather than an extra.
David McK (3425 KP) rated Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
The 40th(!) Discworld novel, that probably best fits into the Industrial Revolution sub-series of such novels (i.e. [b:Moving Pictures|34510|Moving Pictures (Discworld, #10)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320456553s/34510.jpg|1229354], [b:The Truth|51737|The Truth About Forever|Sarah Dessen|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362767907s/51737.jpg|1032900], [b:Monstrous Regiment|34511|Monstrous Regiment The Play|Stephen Briggs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375908503s/34511.jpg|2073281], [b:Going Postal|64222|Going Postal (Discworld, #33)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388236899s/64222.jpg|1636617] and [b:Making Money|116296|Making Money (Discworld, #36)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386925136s/116296.jpg|144656] (possibly also including [b:Unseen Academicals|6250169|Unseen Academicals (Discworld, #37)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388348045s/6250169.jpg|6432996] and [b:Snuff|1840511|Snuff|Chuck Palahniuk|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320410088s/1840511.jpg|2034926])), and is also the third book to feature Moist Von Lipwig as the main protaganist (after [b:Going Postal|64222|Going Postal (Discworld, #33)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388236899s/64222.jpg|1636617] and [b:Making Money|116296|Making Money (Discworld, #36)|Terry Pratchett|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386925136s/116296.jpg|144656]).
This one is to do with the introduction of the railway to the Discworld, and also offers many a reference to previous characters and situations in the series as a whole: indeed, at times, it almost feels as if Pratchett is trying to squeeze as many in as possible.
Unfortunately, it's also not his best: I have to admit, in general, I've found most of his Industrial Revolution novels to not be as good as, say, those based around either The City Watch or those based around The Witches. Like the locomotive on which it is based, I found this one to take a fair bit of time to gather steam, and to feel a wee bit ponderous and unwieldy - this, I have to say, is not a novel I would use to introduce somebody new to the delights of the Discworld. :-(
This one is to do with the introduction of the railway to the Discworld, and also offers many a reference to previous characters and situations in the series as a whole: indeed, at times, it almost feels as if Pratchett is trying to squeeze as many in as possible.
Unfortunately, it's also not his best: I have to admit, in general, I've found most of his Industrial Revolution novels to not be as good as, say, those based around either The City Watch or those based around The Witches. Like the locomotive on which it is based, I found this one to take a fair bit of time to gather steam, and to feel a wee bit ponderous and unwieldy - this, I have to say, is not a novel I would use to introduce somebody new to the delights of the Discworld. :-(
David McK (3425 KP) rated The Truth (Discworld, #25; Industrial Revolution, #2) in Books
Sep 11, 2022
The Truth shall set you Fret!
<2022 update>
Still as good as ever!
<original review below>
So, over the weekend I watched a BBC documentary about the late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett (Terry Pratchett: Back in Black) as part of which they brought up the fact that his earliest job had been as a reporter for his local paper (and saw his first corpse a few hours later, work experience meaning something in those days ...) .
Experience that shows in this novel.
The second of the so-called Industrial Revolutions (after Moving Pictures) sub-series of the Discworld novels, this is - IMO - the first to really get into the meat of said revolution, and concerns itself with Ankh-Morporks first newspaper, alongside a plot to depose the Patrician - a character, I feel, who (whilst mostly in the background in the earlier novels) comes more to the fore in this, as do the likes of Foul Ol' Ron, Coffin Henry, The Duck Man and Gaspode
Of course, it wouldn't be a Pratchett novel without a generous portion of puns running alongside the satire, parody and memorable characters (such as, say, Otto von Chriek: the vampire with a thing for flash photography ...)
Still as good as ever!
<original review below>
So, over the weekend I watched a BBC documentary about the late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett (Terry Pratchett: Back in Black) as part of which they brought up the fact that his earliest job had been as a reporter for his local paper (and saw his first corpse a few hours later, work experience meaning something in those days ...) .
Experience that shows in this novel.
The second of the so-called Industrial Revolutions (after Moving Pictures) sub-series of the Discworld novels, this is - IMO - the first to really get into the meat of said revolution, and concerns itself with Ankh-Morporks first newspaper, alongside a plot to depose the Patrician - a character, I feel, who (whilst mostly in the background in the earlier novels) comes more to the fore in this, as do the likes of Foul Ol' Ron, Coffin Henry, The Duck Man and Gaspode
Of course, it wouldn't be a Pratchett novel without a generous portion of puns running alongside the satire, parody and memorable characters (such as, say, Otto von Chriek: the vampire with a thing for flash photography ...)
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Stick A Flag In It: 1,000 Years Of Bizarre History From Britain And Beyond in Books
Dec 30, 2021
This was a look at our British History which was not only interesting but also amusing. The little comments from the author made me laugh at times as well as the little stories that aren’t well known from our history.
I loved the names of the chapters as they really did sum up the information in the chapter both brilliantly and amusingly.
This is definitely a book that you can dip in and out of and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of Britain, even if you already think that you know a lot about it.
I would rate it 9 stars as sometimes I got a bit confused as some of the chapters in between the main timeline ones jumped about so sometimes I would think that I was further along in history than I was (for example I thought something happened around the industrial revolution but it became clear that it was actually around the time of Elizabeth I) but other than this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the fact that over the busiest time of year I could just dip in and out of it and not lose the information that I had already read.
Arran Lomas has renewed the love I already had for history with this book!
I loved the names of the chapters as they really did sum up the information in the chapter both brilliantly and amusingly.
This is definitely a book that you can dip in and out of and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in the history of Britain, even if you already think that you know a lot about it.
I would rate it 9 stars as sometimes I got a bit confused as some of the chapters in between the main timeline ones jumped about so sometimes I would think that I was further along in history than I was (for example I thought something happened around the industrial revolution but it became clear that it was actually around the time of Elizabeth I) but other than this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the fact that over the busiest time of year I could just dip in and out of it and not lose the information that I had already read.
Arran Lomas has renewed the love I already had for history with this book!
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn in Books
Mar 12, 2021
Fantastic fantasy heist follow-up
I received an advance copy of this book from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The second Ardor Benn book is another epic tale of the ruse artist taking on the royal family. The first book saw Ard's efforts depose the current king and save the dragon race (and hence the world). Sadly, the replacement royalty is no better and the Great Chain is now scattered into different, warring islands. Ard finds himself embroiled in a plot to unearth the conspiracy that the new king's dead nephew, and the rightful heir, is not actually dead.
There is also an interesting new subplot where we see a university professor tasked with discovering new Grit types (the world's magic system, whereby different materials once digested and fired by a dragon produce different magical results). This angle, like the industrial/medical revolution is surprisingly thrilling, with additional intrigue as the results become the interests of some unsavoury characters.
Ard and Raek are once again superb and quickly put together a plot to infiltrate a secret criminal underworld and discover the whereabouts of the true king. The secrecy and plotting, and use of the world's magic makes for some excellent exciting passages.
There are the usual twists and turns along the way, as the security measures in place in the secret society make it hard for Ard to progress too quickly.
As with the first book, the true nature of this strange world is unveiled a little more over the course of the book in spectacular fashion.
A wonderful fun read.
The second Ardor Benn book is another epic tale of the ruse artist taking on the royal family. The first book saw Ard's efforts depose the current king and save the dragon race (and hence the world). Sadly, the replacement royalty is no better and the Great Chain is now scattered into different, warring islands. Ard finds himself embroiled in a plot to unearth the conspiracy that the new king's dead nephew, and the rightful heir, is not actually dead.
There is also an interesting new subplot where we see a university professor tasked with discovering new Grit types (the world's magic system, whereby different materials once digested and fired by a dragon produce different magical results). This angle, like the industrial/medical revolution is surprisingly thrilling, with additional intrigue as the results become the interests of some unsavoury characters.
Ard and Raek are once again superb and quickly put together a plot to infiltrate a secret criminal underworld and discover the whereabouts of the true king. The secrecy and plotting, and use of the world's magic makes for some excellent exciting passages.
There are the usual twists and turns along the way, as the security measures in place in the secret society make it hard for Ard to progress too quickly.
As with the first book, the true nature of this strange world is unveiled a little more over the course of the book in spectacular fashion.
A wonderful fun read.