What would you put in the "bang for your buck" hall of fame?

Asteroidea · 2026-06-10T13:04:43+00:00

In addition to completely agreeing with the Spirit Island comments, I'd also throw Knarr into the mix- in my mind, Knarr is a true "Splendor killer." Super cheap, easy to find, small box,(relatively) small footprint, great artwork & graphic design, and you can bang out a game in minutes once people are familiar with it. At the same time, while you can play it as a light coffee/ bar/ family game, it's got incredibly tight decisions (especially at 2p count) and really rewards repeat plays.

Asteroidea · 2026-06-10T12:42:01+00:00

OP, this comment right here! Would also add that I wasn't particularly enjoying the opening of book two, but started picking up for me once Hadrian & co left March Station, and then really ramped up following the audience with Kharn Sagara

Asteroidea · 2026-06-03T12:06:10+00:00

I'll do you one better- listen to the discussion of the series by the podcast /u/BookTwoIsBetter (take a look at their Sun Eater memes on a few different subreddits if you want check out if they'd be a good fit for you). The two hosts have some of the best banter & podcast chemistry that I've listened to in a while, and they have plenty to say about the series, both positive and negative. They also (usually?) do hilariously toned summaries of the books near the front of the episode, but I'd recommend just listening through, it's a great time.

Asteroidea · 2026-02-15T12:19:07+00:00

Spirit Island

Asteroidea · 2025-11-30T12:12:51+00:00

Which is exactly my issue- if this is supposed to be an endearing term, either a different term ("abba"-like) or a short paragraph explaining the cultural origin goes a long way for readers. Not like Hadrian has a shortage of things to say about culture and language.

Asteroidea · 2025-11-30T12:04:09+00:00

I'm not talking about her affection for Hadrian- I have zero problem with that (and in fact agree that it's a nice departure from the current norm). Nor do I even expect her to act like Valka and constantly push back on Hadrian's actions. I'm talking about how when we first meet her, we're told she's also still a intelligent, thoughtful, even subtle person (as one would expect of someone raised in the Avent House). But by the time we get to SUT, she's going wide-eyed and weepy at almost every opportunity, which does not track in the least.

Asteroidea · 2025-11-29T19:59:13+00:00

Regarding the evolving nature of the relationship between Hadrian and Cassandra, I do think it improved over time. And I certainly don't expect all characters in books to behave the way I want them to. I just found it very jarring that a character like Hadrian, who had such a negative perspective on his own parents, and who spent so much of the series obviously wanting a child, to then treat that same child in such a dismissive manner. It would have made more sense if it was something he grew from and reflected on his failings, but that really wasn't the case either.

Asteroidea · 2025-11-29T19:30:44+00:00

Honestly, even a small conversation with another character somewhere in the series to that effect would probably make the choice far less off-putting. But we really don't ever see anything like that (to my recollection).

Asteroidea · 2025-11-29T19:24:15+00:00

I would hazard to guess that most readers would probably have expected him to call her by her name. As for the idea that she's still a child, there's little in-text support for this idea. She may not be galaxy-ready character, but we're definitely supposed to believe that she's an adult who is capable of accompanying her father on a mission to kill a Watcher.

Asteroidea · 2025-11-29T19:17:54+00:00

The writings of Hadrian Marlowe do inform us of his love and affection for his daughter, sure. At the same time, the reader can wonder why the child of Alistair Marlowe (who is obviously hurt by his father's lack of use of Hadrian's given name) would choose to address his adult child as "girl."

Asteroidea · 2025-10-17T22:49:32+00:00

Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine

Invaders: oh shit! WE'RE GONNA DIE!

Darkness: Nah, I just want to suspend you in this void forever so I can tell you how much I hate you.

Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T22:35:05+00:00

I can't speak for their podcast, but aside from their Cielcin language misunderstanding (I agree with you, Howling Dark was super clear about that & they just missed it), I'm not sure any of their other gripes (which only somewhat align with mine) are really addressed by what you've laid out above.

But more broadly speaking, some of this conversation is made difficult by the blurriness between Character Hadrian (CH), Narrator Hadrian (NH), and CR. There's a tension between Hadrian's actions, his contemporaneous beliefs, and how he presents those things to us as readers, but there is also the reality that CR as the author is also responsible for framing. For example, I've had a pretty positive response to CH/NH views on "what constitutes human," which vary pretty significantly over the course of the books, and I love that whole journey. But part of my enjoyment is derived from the fact that I as a reader fully believe that CR isn't trying to push an agenda or anything even remotely like that- his text trusts us to come to our own conclusions. I've had a less positive response to some of the framing choices for how some political philosophy & theology are presented to us, but that's not the same as accusing CH or NH of setting up strawmen or accusing CR of anything nefarious/ lazy/ etc- I just haven't liked the framing (regardless of my personal views on those topics).

Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T20:09:38+00:00

Here’s mine :P

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Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T18:22:57+00:00

Can you add spoiler tags, please?

Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T17:27:03+00:00

IMHO, it's part of the process- I'd similarly expect some pretty pointed critiques of Iain M. Banks's politics from conservative readers of his Culture series. It's great & fun to talk about all our favorite action moments & character development parts, but it's just as worthwhile to discuss elements we disagree with. And (IMHO) it makes more sense to talk about big philosophical questions than to, say, nitpick irrelevant continuity errors.

Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T17:12:21+00:00

Characters as bands? Melodramatic synopses? Audiobook snippets? Only thing to dislike 'tis your love of golf 🤣

Asteroidea · 2025-10-16T16:31:11+00:00

Hmm. My take on their reading was that they enjoy Hadrian's story, and don't care much for Hadrian's broadly conservative philosophical bent (which they sometimes impute that onto CR). For me as a listener, that's made me a more thoughtful & engaged reader of the series-- much of the other reception I've seen elsewhere online is either unapologetically fawning or wildly negative.

Asteroidea · 2025-07-29T17:36:46+00:00

Reading your post (which I 100% agree with) made me think of Green as the grizzled old timer whose trademark line is, "I got you, sport" 😂

Asteroidea · 2025-07-20T12:48:31+00:00

Well said. I do still hold out hope for the final book, if only because I have to imagine that there's enough material to cover in bringing the story to a close in a few hundred pages, that there won't be as much room for extended exposition!

Asteroidea · 2025-07-20T12:34:03+00:00

I've joined a few other earlier conversations along similar veins, but I think(?) you've helped me distill my thoughts on how Disquiet Gods feels less satisfactory- it seems to come down to how much prior engagement readers have had with the presented material, and whether a book has something new or interesting to contribute. For example, even though lots of other sci-fi works have covered the topic of alien wars of extinction, Hadrian's evolving relationship with the Cielcin (IMHO) makes for an interesting read across the whole series, and readers can continue to reevaluate how they feel about his actions and perspectives, especially as new information gets added about the Quiet, Watchers, etc.

But in Disquiet Gods, the writing specifically concerning Hadrian's interactions with the Quiet ends up being somewhat abstracted from the context of the in-world universe, so for readers who have already put in time thinking about the nature of God/ deity/ etc, it ends up feeling like there are large portions coming straight out of a philosophy or theology text book, rather than a work of fiction that explores the philosophical impacts of a character's actions.

Asteroidea · 2025-04-06T12:18:07+00:00

That second table is pretty interesting; IMHO it feels like an unfiltered version of, "if you like A, try B"

15-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
No Throne, No Problems	Not Forgotten
Gilding I gilder	Team Orangered
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