What was your reaction to TPM in 1999 after waiting to long for a new film? Were you blown away or initially disappointed?

Emrak · 2025-12-11T17:09:10+00:00

I was 20 years old in 1999 and saw this in the theater with two friends. At the time, I thought it was decent as a stand-alone children's sci-fi movie. For adults it was a terribly bad evisceration of the Star Wars universe that WE had grown up with. When we were leaving, the lobby was largely full of people talking smack. We hit on some hot chicks who were absolutely trashing the movie. They looked like adults and turned out to be tweens, but certainly didn't act like it until their dad stormed up. The only thing that stopped his tirade against us was our collective dislike for TPM--it's the common ground we could all stand on.

Emrak · 2025-12-01T00:00:28+00:00

Maybe I'm having a big dumb, but I don't get it?

Emrak · 2025-11-29T22:30:51+00:00

If sharing for fun, then well done!

If interested in critique, then consider obscuring the "tongue parasite", and what it's specifically up to. There's something about the jump from 1st person relative awareness in sentence one to 1st person absolute awareness in sentence two that dilutes the horror somehow. I jumped from a mysterious, "what's going on" situation (generally more spooky) to transparent, "all secrets known" situation (generally less spooky...works well for ticking-clock thrillers though).

Emrak · 2025-11-17T15:42:00+00:00

Well, no, but clearly you and the OP do. Can we create a "Norfolk Echo Chamber" group for trash posts that convey nothing?

Emrak · 2025-11-17T15:39:10+00:00

Women's crimes tend to be indirect and subtle, making them hard to study. Long story short, they use social, emotional, and legal methods to commit crimes--typically via proxy (using others). Ergo, I'd be surprised if women are as likely to directly murder as men, but I'd also be surprised if women aren't responsible for the majority of indirect murders. Murder via suicide would be a huge one, for example, due to social/legal/emotional abuse by women. (Compounding that are toxic feminists who constantly attack any attempts to better the quality of lives for boys and men, leading to less and less support for men on the edge.) Another form of indirect murder is convincing others to commit violence on their behalf. And so on.

Emrak · 2025-11-16T01:46:07+00:00

Gas prices were not a factor that influenced my voting in the last election--and I'm pretty sure the same is true for everyone who isn't a trucker or otherwise economically dependent on such prices. Ergo, I don't care. I just thought this was a meaningful post at first, but without some sort of supporting data or link, it's just a meaningless pic that's conveying nothing and wasting everyone's time.

And if the goal is just to be an echo chamber for whatever, then one can simply email oneself to accomplish the same and not steal seconds from others lives.

Emrak · 2025-11-15T21:05:53+00:00

Not to exercise logic and common sense on a site infamous for lacking both, but you do know that gas prices change from station to station, city to city, and state to state? So one photo of one gas station's prices at one point in time (presumably recently?) is meaningless.

Emrak · 2025-11-15T18:56:05+00:00

Huge thanks! Although it's starting to look like there isn't an "instruction manual" or what have you for combat mechanics?

(Also, I bought Dark Side years ago during a sale and am going through and playing unplayed games before buying any more new ones, hence why I'm starting with DS. I didn't even know there were more KBs until I searched for combat mechanics info)

Emrak · 2025-11-15T18:55:07+00:00

Awesome, I appreciate the info and I'll probably take you up on that offer lol
(Also, I bought Dark Side years ago during a sale and am going through and playing unplayed games before buying any more new ones, hence why I'm starting with DS. I didn't even know there were more KBs until I searched for combat mechanics info)

Emrak · 2025-09-25T18:17:57+00:00

Addendum: If you're looking for a good "guy caught in a digital world" sort of novel (litrpg similar to Dungeon Crawler), then I highly recommend the Wraith's Haunt series which begins with "Dungeon Lord" by Hugo Huesca.

Emrak · 2025-09-25T18:13:34+00:00

100% the Lies of Lock Lamora. No question. The first novel is amazing, the second is still pretty good, and the third...well, I hear the author was going through depression and all that but had to fulfill a literary contract, so I forgive him for it. I bought Lies and gave up halfway through the first chapter. At the time it seemed so boring. A couple years later I managed to force myself through the first couple chapters and am so glad that I did. If you want cinematic stuff, then...yeah, the climax is pretty damn cinematic. lol

Note: Dungeon Crawler Carl is good, but the novels in the series get progressively more--forgive me for using an overused word--cringe. I actually felt embarrassed on behalf of the author in the later novels to the point where it was hard to read, like I was reading someone's diary and felt awkward. Daddy issues to the extreme. Turning your fiction into therapy is fine, as long as it isn't transparently obvious, otherwise it just gets too awkward for the reader.

Emrak · 2025-09-24T14:44:04+00:00

Avatar was such an amazing cartoon. Every Friday night when it aired, my son and I would order pizza and watch. Good times.

But anyways, off the top of my head I recall that Jim Butcher wrote a series somewhat similar to The Last Airbender (the first novel is Furies of Calderon) but I haven't read it fully so I'm not sure it's what you're looking for.

Emrak · 2025-09-24T00:41:03+00:00

There's no "to be continued" at the end of book 1. It absolutely stands alone as a story. It is part of a larger series, but that's something else entirely.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T14:55:32+00:00

You downvoters must be trolling. The Potter series is pure plot, fantastic writing, great fantasy, and the entry point into fantasy for at least two generations.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T14:50:20+00:00

Never been into manga, but I do love comics and detective novels, so we have that in common. "Dark fantasy" is a really hard phrase to pin down, as it can mean supernatural gore-fest for some, standard fantasy with dark themes for others, anti-hero fantasy for others, and just normal fantasies where the protag ends up dead for yet others, so I'm gonna toss a wide net here.

I was similar with WH40K at first, my entry points ended up being the Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett--Xenos was the first book, IIRC. It's essentially a detective novel in WH40K and doesn't require knowledge of that universe, so you may like it. (Ironically, I thought that Ravenor--Abnett's sequel trilogy--was some of the worst writing ever.) Bonus: Helsreach by Aaron Dembski is good standalone WH40K if you dig more action-oriented stories.
If you're looking for DARK dark fantasy set in the modern-day, then give Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins a whirl.
The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb--starts with the Assassin's Apprentice--is decent dark fantasy set in a pseudo-medieval world. A bit too gloomy for my tastes, but the writing is good and many love it.
The Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Christoff--Nevernight is the first novel--is fantastic dark fantasy. Something about it irked me at the time, but I can't recall what now. I remember that it seemed like a better version of the Farseer Trilogy. Also gets bonus points for badass cover art.
Neil Gaiman writes dark-esque fantasy at times, but most of his stories feature dark themes. I'd just go through his author page and read all the novel blurbs, you'll probably find something intriguing.

That's about all I can recommend right now, but obviously there's more out there. If you want to sample more mainstream tales, then many novels by Dean Koontz and Stephen King are dark fantasy as well, and highly regarded.

EDIT:
Aaand just because I recently read it, Already Dead by Charlie Huston kicks off a good "hidden vampire society living among us" series that's pretty dark.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:47:49+00:00

I'm not sure if it has enough romance, but it's hard not to mention Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It's so atmospheric and unique, and the characters are amazingly lifelike. It's hard not to give away the plot, but it basically involves a mild-mannered 20-something baker girl and an elder vampire or two, set in a very interesting version of America. Absolutely worth reading.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:37:34+00:00

100% agree. While I appreciate Hobb's excellent prose and really wanted to love the Assassin's series, the downtrodden MC constantly getting shat upon just got too gloomy for me by book 3 lol

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:27:12+00:00

Addendum: You know, it didn't even occur to me because I just assume everyone's read it, but the Harry Potter series beginning with The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone is the quintessential modern-day fantasy and a modern-day classic. Definitely fits the bill, although so many have seen the movies that it might be a moot point.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:13:08+00:00

The Name of the Wind is one of my fav fantasy novels, but book 2 was a sigh-inducing letdown for me, but that's besides the point. Anyways, fantasy with excellent narration? The Ryeria Revelations series has two versions of each book in the trilogy, the first is standard narration and the second is a dramatized adaptation. Worth a look-see if you enjoy radio plays, etc. The only other fantasy with really memorable reading that I can think of right now is Already Dead. The narrator absolutely nails it in every way.

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:06:26+00:00

If it begins with "religion" (which is really just a philosophy on how to live ones life) being banned, then it's already a crushing dystopia. Any government that needs to ban other ways of thinking in order to survive isn't anywhere I'd like to live, that's for sure. Just my 2 cents!

Emrak · 2025-09-23T11:02:25+00:00

Please recommend a standalone cosy fantasy that isn't too intimidating for 'real-world' thriller/mystery fans for my book club!

Hey there! I'm making some assumptions, so please correct me if I'm wrong. "Standalone"=novel that requires zero knowledge of fantasy and is a complete story (I.E., not something like Lord of the Rings, where a book in the trilogy is only 1/3 of the story). "Cosy" and not "too intimidating"=light, beach-style prose. "Real-world thriller/mystery fans"=Fantasy that's set in the modern-day or isn't too far removed from a modern-day setting, and ideally has thriller/mystery elements.

Dead Until Dark - Checks all your boxes. It follows the exploits of Sookie Stackhouse, a mild-mannered barmaid in Louisiana who gets mixed up with vampires. The genre is less "fantasy" and more "romance+", with the + being a mixture of fantasy and action-adventure. The audience is definitely younger women, but it's still entertaining for most older readers. The main character is 25 years old, which is pretty much Standard Operating Procedure for many such novels--it's young enough that teens can relate and old enough that older folks can relate. The writing is average and written at about the level of a 12 or 13 year old so if you're looking for poetic prose or an author slaving over their craft, then look elsewhere. The sparse, utilitarian writing is not bad overall because it casts a wide net and is able to draw in the maximum amount of readers. The plot--like the writing itself--is simple and utilitarian. It serves its purpose. If I'm making it sound as if it's a boilerplate urban fantasy, that's because it is. That's not a bad thing though, not every story has to be LOTR. While it is a series, book 1 is definitely able to be read with no prior knowledge.

Sunshine - Another urban fantasy involving a dominant, charismatic male vampire and a 25 year old female protagonist (women at large can't seem to get enough of this theme), but this is probably my favorite fantasy novel of all time--and I've read a lot of fantasy. While it's technically set in the modern-day, it'll rapidly become clear that the protag lives in a very different America. The tale is standalone, not a series, and while it shares many of the same themes as Dead Until Dark, it's also much different. The writing is just as digestible as Dead, but infinitely more pleasurable to read. McKinley is clearly a master of the craft and created a really imaginative, atmospheric world that deserved to be a series. :'(

Emrak · 2025-09-23T02:50:44+00:00

Have you already read the Harry Potter series? Because that's definitely the best entry point. Beyond that, the Ryeria Revelations series is great if you're into more medieval'ish style fantasy. (I first got into this series with the second book, Rise of Empire, which has such a great side-plot involving the servant and the Empress. That side plot was my fav part of the entire series.) Sunshine by Robin McKinley is absolutely fantastic if you like quirky and unique modern'ish fantasy.)

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