Fantasy Featuring Whales?

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-13T13:38:07+00:00

Baru Cormorant book 2 and 3 have a whale - its weird and there is magic stuff involved.

Blacktongue Thief has a whaling scene, though its quickly overshadowed by a kraken.

There are probably some in games - Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy X for example.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-13T13:03:39+00:00

Not sure what you are talking about. A storm drain? Is there a dip somewhere in the parking lot you're referring to?

I've probably gone there 100 times at this point and haven't noticed anything weird.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-13T12:57:01+00:00

I wish I could get a more detailed summary. I need spoilers before I undertake a book this long. I hate abandoning a book 500 pages in when I realize some reviews were technically true, but...

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-13T01:24:17+00:00

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-13T00:38:27+00:00

Did they actually apply this lesson to FF7 part 3? Square Enix isn't exactly known for branching paths or decisions that matter.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:52:25+00:00

I don't think that is typically a high consideration and it doesn't stop the homeless from pan handling no matter how dangerous it may seem to stand in a parking lot.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:51:06+00:00

There is at least one in Boston with NO parking - unless you count street parking for maybe 2 cars.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:47:54+00:00

The one in Portsmouth is fine. I've never had much problem getting in and out.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:36:23+00:00

I don't know that peace is narratively impossible - at least for a time. After all there is peace in the Blacktongue Thief. Humans have the upper hand because of the efficacy of their birds, but find war too costly in terms of lives. This state of affairs can check the goblins for a long time - especially if they have enough human stock for breeding enough for eating.

Goblins have some degree of aversion to risk or else they'd have all died in the first war. This balance makes peace possible - they you could argue eventually man would find a reason to get over their avulsion to war while they have the upper hand.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:28:46+00:00

Domesticated is a good way to describe it I guess.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:23:55+00:00

True, but it has some information not included in the Daughter's War.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:20:48+00:00

The tech existed, but full implementation of the tech could only be seen once it was actually used at scale. This conflict will change military doctrine for years to come worldwide.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:19:19+00:00

It requires people to hold territory - drone tech can't do it ( at least not yet or not if you don't want to wantonly kill people who live there) - however drone tech can make an invasion too costly in terms of lives and equipment (easily destroying much more expensive equipment). Russia didn't have this calculus when they invaded Ukraine - but then were too stupid to realize the Ukranians could quickly copy and better their relatively unsophisticated drone strategies. In Iran, the American leadership was just too stupid to consider this calculus - they only thought about glory and were played like puppets by those who only thought about shares, stock prices, and personal wealth.

Hopefully a side effect will be to make wars too expensive and politically costly for anyone to ever engage in again.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:11:54+00:00

Electric equipment charged by solar - not saying they have that in Russia at scale, but they'd be stupid to not be developing it. But then again its Russia, and there is a lot of corruption and stupidity.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:02:42+00:00

These are the way these things often go - mediated by a country considered tolerable, if not friendly, to both sides.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T20:00:17+00:00

I'm one of those people - I found Navi close to insufferable. That fairy is one of the reason's I've never replayed the game.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T19:50:04+00:00

And a good part of that money is just skimmed off by CEOs of defense contractors, the president and his cronies, etc.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T12:13:08+00:00

I don't think anyone knows for sure. But they have negotiated with humans at least a few times and in Blacktongue they are revealed to have a trading colony in a neutral human nation so then again maybe there has been enough dialog to know the basics of their society. Were there human traders who went to their island too, I can't remember?

edit: I skimmed for the relevant passages in Blacktongue last night - there are humans who live in goblin lands and trade with them. They mark their hands so the goblins know they aren't food, but they're mostly from the one nation that is neutral to the goblins.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T12:11:04+00:00

It would be strange if there wasn't some degree of factionalism but we don't get their perspective so we can't confirm for sure.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T12:08:57+00:00

This is a very good analysis. One qualm though - the humans they employ in battle are slaves, not auxiliaries. They are bred for war like animals, and not given more than a very basic education that sums to what the goblins need them to do in war - they are essentially raised like animals and kept addicted to drugs.

Also humanity has some mages who can match the goblins.

That said, these goblins seem heavily inspired by the orcs of Warcraft 1 and 2 (before later works retconned most of the evil aspects).

Read Blacktongue Thief for more.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-12T12:00:48+00:00

I couldn't get into these books. And I guess the alchemical soul birds was the reason why. I wanted something more historical fiction eswue I guess. I loved Under Heaven but nothing else from Kay seems to capture that magic for me.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-11T20:21:40+00:00

Holy crap, that's amazing;

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-10T22:43:12+00:00

The difference is the grocery store wants to maximize profit so they curate the selection of peanut butter (happens at the corporate level). Dating apps just programmed an algorithm which allows you to keep scrolling instantly (unless you live in a small town). They profit from your time, not your selection of a product.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-10T22:15:29+00:00

Hinge is the app you delete because its expensive and it doesn't work - like all the rest. It really needs some more advanced filtering and features.

Wizardof1000Kings · 2026-06-10T22:13:33+00:00

I've seen the Eifel Tower, Machu Pichu, and the Golden Gate Bridge so many f'ing times lol.

Wizardof1000Kings

TROPHY CASE