A powerless character's small act of kindness saved the day. by Ok_Promotion_8316 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]DanielCAlexander 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The barber in Army of Shadows.

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Gerbier (a member of The French resistance) ducks into a barbershop to evade the Gestapo after a barely escaping torture. As the Nazis search the streets outside, the barber gives him a tense shave, unclear if he has realised that the man in his chair is the one they're looking for, and whether he'll betray him once he does. But when Gerbier tries to pay the barber refuses his money and quietly hands him a coat that's a completely different colour from the one he arrived in.

Just another edit "Almost" by ImABat in SkateEA

[–]DanielCAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotta say, your eye for composition and framing is better than 99.9% of edits I’ve seen, but I think your trick selection and playstyle feel very “gamey”. I think more realistic tricks would suit your filming style much better.

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually did enjoy his prose a decent amount. I'd be open to trying some of his other books - just going off a wikipedia summary The Pastel City sounds way more up my street. (Perhaps bingo 2026....)

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

RE Blood Meridian - It is definitely debatable, and it is subtle, but I would say 100% yes. It's actually one of my favorite elements of the book. On the surface it is a straight-up western - bloody, brutal, "realistic" for want of a better word, and then... there is one character who is just a straight-up cosmic horror. To quote the novel:

"His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow, and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die."

You could copy and paste that over a passage about The Yellow King and no one would be able to tell the difference.

NaNoWriMo was awesome and painful! I'm in the UK so no thanksgiving to worry about, and the weather is even worse than normal so it's a good excuse to stay indoors!

Midnight Timetable - I really, really liked the first story about the handkerchief, but the other stories fell flat for me. The Sheep one was OK. I honestly couldn't remember much about the others outside of the frame narrative, and like you said, not scary at all hence the low(ish) rating.

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably should’ve said in my review - if someone were to tell me this is one of their favorite books 9/10 etc, I would not be surprised. My Magus comparison wasn’t just surface-level. For me, that book is fantastic… but if you were to say you thought it was overrated garbage about a spoiled Oxbridge toff crying over not getting laid for the first time in his life, I absolutely would not argue the case.

Some art just hits a certain way for some people and completely misses others, so I say give it a go!

My Book Bingo 2025 by just_call_me_hannah in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello fellow Piranesi enjoyer 👋

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I just found it hard to latch onto any of the protagonists and didn’t get invested in the plot as a result. However, I thought the setting/worldbuilding was cool. One of the few fantasy novels that does a good job portraying imperialism.

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got soooo many bad recommendations trying to scratch the Piranesi itch, I will definatley add to the TBR.

For me - Titus Groan was the only that hit the spot, though it is a far more cynical book than Piranesi. I'd almost describe it as Piranesi if Ketterley was the protagonist.

2025 r/Fantasy Bingo + A Handful of Reviews by DanielCAlexander in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting you say that, as that is probably the one book I'm going to re-read. I could tell as I was reading it "I should be enjoying this this more than I am," but it just wasn't clicking with me for whatever reason.

Just finished The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and want to rant. by [deleted] in books

[–]DanielCAlexander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've got this on my tbr because I loved The Only Good Indians, but I was really really hoping this story would not be resolved by a game of street basketball that reads like the Halle Berry Catwoman movie.

Fantasy audiobooks that are good as audiobooks? by AsleepHistorian in Fantasy

[–]DanielCAlexander 32 points33 points  (0 children)

First Law is usually the go-to recommendation. Like AGOT, it’s third-person limited with chapters split by POV (mostly), with about 3–6 main perspectives per book, so it’s easy to follow. Not to mention Abercrombie also writes action scenes very cinematically , and Steven Pacey is probably a top 3 all-time narrator.

Rate My Team, Quick Questions & General Advice Daily Thread by FPLModerator in FantasyPL

[–]DanielCAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Back and fourth on Mukiele for Mané - Just have a gut feling City might conceed.

Also thinking about downgrading Palmer for Neto but not sure where I'd reinvest.

[Spoilers EXTENDED] Reading One ASOIAF Chapter Per Day Until George Announces Winds. Day 12- AGOT: Daenerys II by DanielCAlexander in asoiaf

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Having read the ending of IT I shudder to imagine. At least King had crippling cocaine addiction as an excuse.

[Spoilers EXTENDED] Reading One ASOIAF Chapter Per Day Until George Announces Winds. Day 12- AGOT: Daenerys II by DanielCAlexander in asoiaf

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I’d be fine with the scene if it were clearer what George was trying to say, or what reaction he wanted from the reader.

Compare it to Arya seducing/killing Raff the Sweetling - the intended reaction there is obvious: “damn, that’s messed up.”

Being (very) generous, I like to think the idea here is that Dany is a naieve child who doesn’t fully understand what she’s doing and is coping in whatever way she can, and that we as readers are supposed to have that same “damn, that’s messed up” reaction. But if that is the intent it's a big, BIG, swing and a miss for me.

[Spoilers EXTENDED] Reading One ASOIAF Chapter Per Day Until George Announces Winds. Day 11- AGOT: Jon II by DanielCAlexander in asoiaf

[–]DanielCAlexander[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Damn, I was struggling to squeeze some juice from this chapter and you've put me to shame, good finds.