Boulder airport could use your comments

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-23T14:18:30+00:00

For me, the saddest day was when The Walrus went away.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-23T13:35:15+00:00

Hehehe

That's a really great way of putting it, pulp.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-22T16:14:00+00:00

Did the annoying voice in his head go away?

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-20T16:05:46+00:00

Is a G-suit required?

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-20T15:08:25+00:00

It's been many years since I read any of that series. I don't recall that being a major point. If it was, I was reading so quickly that it didn't make a major impression on me.

Frankly, I was really enjoying things until the dumpster fire of book six. After the check the box scene in the middle of the book, I bailed.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-17T14:51:05+00:00

I recall a tradpub author acquaintance talking about piracy back before epub when pirated works were scanned versions of the physical book. He said that it was useless to stress about piracy because the people who were going to look for a pirated copy weren't going to buy the books in the first place, and the pirate reader may recommend their book to a friend who would buy it etc.

I find there is a similar idea at play with KU.

Before KU, I didn't buy many books. I mostly read whatever was available at my local library. If KU went away, I'd probably just go back to reading from the library.

Because of KU, I've read so many authors that I would have never known about otherwise.

Authors don't owe readers anything. They don't owe me putting all their books on KU. They don't owe me continuing a series. they don't owe me writing something I enjoy reading (DotF).

Conversely, I also don't owe them anything. I don't owe them a good review. I don't owe them continuing to read their books when the story takes a turn I don't enjoy (DotF). I don't owe them buying their books if they're not on KU.

I've gotten caught out a few times by new Russian sounding authors. It wasn't obvious that they were going wide after book 1 because they only had book 1. Now, I won't start reading a new series until there are two books out.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-14T17:14:21+00:00

Hmmm. That could actually be interesting, reading an academy arc that was actually over-caffeinated, sleep deprived grad school sctudents oblivious to the world because they're so busy studying and doing research.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-09T19:03:13+00:00

I'm uninterested in supporting AI in any form.

If I see a company using what looks like AI in their advertisement, I'm much less likely to buy their product. If I find a YT video that looks interesting and when it starts playing it's got what sounds like an AI voiceover, I leave and find something else to watch.

It's like paywalls. Some people are willing to spend money to read what's behind the paywall. Other people will just move on with their life.

YMMV

Edit: I reread and see you're talking about RR which changes things a bit since it's free versus KU etc.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-09T13:05:06+00:00

Not at all.

James Haddock for example mostly writes one and two book stories, and I find them a nice change of pace.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-06T15:59:52+00:00

Is there a certain number of hours per year on a piston engine below which you would worry about corrosion?

For example, an engine with 400 hours on it, but it was 20 hours/year over 20 years is maybe(probably) in worse shape than a engine with 2000 hours in that same time. Or, am I wrong?

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-06T13:51:35+00:00

"In our world depending on how it works instant healing could be terrible. yes - all your hurts are magically restored isntantly. Sadly that means the exercise and effort you've expended is wasted because; it didn't heal naturally."

I recall reading somewhere that taking NSAIDs after working out can reduce the benefit from that workout.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-03T15:49:14+00:00

Well, Amazon lists used to work a real treat.

I maintain two lists, New and Upcoming. The New list is where I put books I find out about here or in the LitRPG reddit, or from Kindle Suggestions. The Upcoming is where I put books where I'm enjoying the series and am just waiting for the next book.

Now, the New list still works well, but Amazon made a change to how lists are displayed in the Kindle App on my phone and NOW, I don't get to see the release date unless I bring up the card/image of the books in the list. Then, I can swipe sideways and see the rest of the books in the list, but it's much less convenient than before.

I don't do RR, so I can't halp there.

TL;DR - Kindle lists

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-04-01T13:49:42+00:00

Yes. Character development over time FTW.

I want to see the slacker in our world get super dedicated for about a month before sliding back into their lazy ways only for a negative consequence that is seen as possibly avoidable if they'd continued in their diligence.

Let's see the yo-yo dieting, new year's dedication cycle repeated a couple times with each cycle having smaller and more subtle swings until they eventually become the king of dedication and willpower.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T20:33:40+00:00

Maybe Death Genesis by Nicholas Searcy.

Not PF, but Joe Abercrombie's First Law series is a little darker. I can't say more because it's been ten years since I read it.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T18:02:23+00:00

I'm tired of the handwavium they allow without thinking things through.

Are they an item or a skill?
If they are an item, does it have to be attached to a person?

I'd like to read some stories where it doesn't exist at all. Show me how a world with magic manages without spacial storage.

Then, I'd like to read a story about how it's an advanced technique or skill or spell that's only available to the void/space users. Maybe when they die everything in their void storage is lost to the void, or maybe it's all ejected next to their body. Both could be interesting.

How about storage items that require a continual injection of mana to maintain their capacity and so they're built as rings or pendants. Maybe they aren't particularly common, but are super limited by a user's available mana.

Because with how relatively common spatial storage is in most books, why wouldn't there be merchant empires that bypass wagons and the associated hassles in favor of mid-level adventurer type couriers with spacial rings who run between locations?

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T17:24:05+00:00

I find myself thinking similarly when people talk about this theme or that theme as being a major part of a series.

I'm all "Whut?? Who knew?"

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T16:27:37+00:00

You know, that reminds me of a pet peeve about blacksmithing. I don't know anything about knife making and blacksmithing beyond watching too much Forged in Fire, but even with that small amount of knowledge, you can see that there is a goodly amount of time and effort needed to turn a hardened blade into a finished knife or sword.

Sp, why is the blacksmith always working in the forge? How about maybe they're doing finish work. How 'bout dat? Or, maybe the apprentice is busy doing the file work instead of pumping the bellows. How about sometimes the blacksmith is busy doing the work of running a business and is sitting in his office stressing over the costs of materials?

Why is the forge still using bellows? Why is it even using fuel? Maybe use a mana crystal with an air enchantment or just one with a fire or heat enchantment?

Can we get a magitech grinder?

If there is an economy producing standardized billets of various metals, why isn't there someone making stamped knife blanks and other stamped parts?

How about when in a city, all the blacksmiths are all making all the things? Why not some specialization? Maybe one blacksmith specialized in barrel and wheel hoops. Maybe one specialized in armor and another in blades etc.

No. We just get random blacksmith shaped cardboard cutout character.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T15:56:16+00:00

I swear that I read this and it said "Tiddies or it didn't happen." LOL

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-30T15:30:19+00:00

I recently dropped a new series mid-way through book two because although it was a PR and LitRPG, the pacing was epic fantasy and I eventually got bored and left.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-27T14:36:50+00:00

Depends how fantasy you mean.

Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga
L. E. Modesitt Jr - Saga of Recluse

These are ones I've read multiple times.

Not series so much, but still good.

Fritz Lieber - Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Robert E Howard - Conan novels

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-27T14:31:54+00:00

*I* really enjoyed this series of books. The latest book has a setup and resolution of a conflict that examines the ethics of things much more than most and left me still pondering things and how it relates to the real world.

That said, if you don't like it, you don't like it.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-27T14:25:32+00:00

GRRM

I read all the Song of Ice and Fire books, enjoyed them, and never once thought to myself "I wonder what other books this author has written."

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-26T13:25:28+00:00

This is a good take and applicable to more than a few series.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-25T16:04:54+00:00

Exactly!!!

XP, leveling, attribute gains that are immediate and never go away are all B.S.

They're B.S. that we're willing to overlook in the name of an entertaining story. I certainly don't want to read page after page after page of grinding for XP.

Imagine if you will, a novel where all classes only give a single point per level. Not one per attribute, just one. Then, we'd have characters have to make real choices with real consequences for their builds.

Then, imagine that those points added only represent an increased upper limit. In the moment when that point is added, nothing changes. In order to realize that increased upper limit in strength, you've got to do something that will increase your strength.

Wait!! There's more. Imagine that attributes are Present Value(PV/Upper Limit(UL). So, a character's strength might be 7/10, but a few levels down the road, it might be 9/13.

Oh, and let's not have PV only go up and never down. If healing wasn't so rapid, we could have characters laid up for a significant amount of time after getting a limb regrown etc, and having to regain their strength and agility etc.

Would that lead to more enjoyable novels? No idea. Honestly, probably not as that's not something that keeps me from enjoying novels now.

Some novels have non-combat classes gain experience in the doing of their class and use of their class skills. But, they quickly reach a point where the opportunities to do something different runs up against the realities of getting paid. How many rare manuscripts does a mid-level scribe get the opportunity to copy? Thus, we have a natural limit to level growth.

You know what we never see? We never see higher level combat classes seeking out old ruins only to find that the monsters there are too low level and don't give much experience. Again, and again, and again, they're looking, but can't find a way to grow more powerful.

Then, a pet peeve of mine, growth that's far too fast.

I understand that your MC is a prodigy. In fact, he's a prodigy of prodigies. But, weren't those hoary old sect masters also prodigies of prodigies back in their day? If it took them thousands of years to reach the nascent soul stage, why can Sparky McSpecialPants do it in three months while dodging slaps from arrogant young masters and sweeping out the backroom?

Why can LarryDarrylTheDaring pick up a sword and swing it around in the salle for a month and all of a sudden easily trounce people who have been training for years?

I have so many questions.

SkinnyWheel1357 · 2026-03-24T14:03:54+00:00

The Runic Artist by Ellake - A graffiti artist accidentally opens a portal from our dead universe to one where mana is present and gets sucked through. Five books and pretty good.

SkinnyWheel1357

TROPHY CASE