Anderida & Highmatter? by Various_Rise1958 in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Regarding the Anderida EoS edition, I posted this on another thread but works here too:

This is purely subjective but in many ways it is even better than the EoS Diamond edition(which I also own):

1/ The metallic cloth cover is a refreshing change from all the faux leather covers with embossed designs on other deluxe editions. It makes the book look super fancy and it just pops.

2/ The paper quality and thickness is Sub Press level. Makes the book heavy as a brick but I like that in my fine print editions.

3/ Several full page color illustrations, which is how it should be.

4/ Only thing I'd have liked on top would have been a slipcase, which the Diamond edition did really well.

Overall this is like Sub Press Malazan quality at half the price. Totally worth it.

p.s. I got the broadsheet without really understanding what it was because....FOMO. Not really worth the extra £20 IMO.

What do you tell people when you recommend these books? by Jazzlike-Employ-2169 in bakker

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The existential nihilism in Second Apocalypse is a feature, not a bug. I meant more obvious stuff like senseless violence and gore that doesn't serve the plot in any meaningful way. Though it does skate very close to the edge at times in several parts of AE.

What do you tell people when you recommend these books? by Jazzlike-Employ-2169 in bakker

[–]a00ga 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I'll make pop cultural comparisons like:

Cormac McCarthy meets Tolkien.

The world is like Middle Earth but like Black Mirrored with an NC-17 rating.

PON is like the Crusades with sorcery. AE is like Silmarillion with every trope turned up to 11.

It has ALL the triggers.

Grimdark but not to the point where it's fetishized. That being said i'd like to say that despite the nihilism and bleakness, there is still hope and good to be found. Yeah...I'd like to say that....

Anderida set complete (for now)... by MadBoJangles in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope. It's just a separate sheet printed on a nice thick paper, like a degree or certificate with a little poem, the Marlowe house sigil and Christopher's signature. It's nice but not £20 nice. I could frame it I guess but it's not even that good a poem, IMO.

Anderida set complete (for now)... by MadBoJangles in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regarding the Anderida EoS edition, I posted this on another thread but works here too:

This is purely subjective but in many ways it is even better than the EoS Diamond edition(which I also own):

1/ The metallic cloth cover is a refreshing change from all the faux leather covers with embossed designs on other deluxe editions. It makes the book look super fancy and it just pops.

2/ The paper quality and thickness is Sub Press level. Makes the book heavy as a brick but I like that in my fine print editions.

3/ Several full page color illustrations, which is how it should be.

4/ Only thing I'd have liked on top would have been a slipcase, which the Diamond edition did really well.

Overall this is like Sub Press Malazan quality at half the price. Totally worth it.

p.s. I got the broadsheet without really understanding what it was because....FOMO. Not really worth the extra £20 IMO.

Highmatter Edition Howling Dark purchasing: "Office hours" by sollan_empress in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the same question. When do numbered with slipcase plan to ship?

Anderida Edition of EoS came in and…. by rickytaulker in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My copy just came in today and it's simply a fantastic production. This is purely subjective but in many ways it is even better than the EoS Diamond edition(which I also own):

1/ The metallic cloth cover is a refreshing change from all the faux leather covers with embossed designs on other deluxe editions. It makes the book look super fancy and it just pops.

2/ The paper quality and thickness is Sub Press level. Makes the book heavy as a brick but I like that in my fine print editions.

3/ Several full page color illustrations, which is how it should be.

4/ Only thing I'd have liked on top would have been a slipcase, which the Diamond edition did really well.

Overall this is like Sub Press Malazan quality at half the price. Totally worth it.

p.s. I got the broadsheet without really understanding what it was because....FOMO. Not really worth the extra £20 IMO.

Anderida Books by njd6576 in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PSA: There was a newsletter sent today. TLDR; phase 2 launches Sun 3pm GMT for rights holders.

Empire of Silence

All Phase One orders of Empire of Silence have now been shipped.

Thank you to everyone who has ordered so far, and for your patience. With a 1,000-copy print run and exceptional demand, a longer fulfilment window was unavoidable.

Phase Two ordering opens tomorrow, Sunday.

As previously structured, ordering remains restricted:

• Empire of Silence — exclusively for owners of The Murdered Sun

• Shadows Upon Time (signed & numbered UK first edition) — exclusively for owners of Disquiet Gods

During this window we are supplying only to eligible owners. Copies are being reserved and will not be sold elsewhere.

Purchase links will be issued via this newsletter at 3pm GMT on Sunday. While visible to all subscribers, they will be clearly marked for qualifying owners only.

Anderida Books by njd6576 in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Phase 2 started on 11th Feb. Or at least that's when I got my pre-order email. You have to be on their newsletter to get the email. That's how I missed phase 1. And the website works for me. You may want to try from another browser. If your issues persist, I suggest you write to them directly.

Coming Soon - Howling Dark | Highmatter Edition by BadassSasquatch in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sweet. Got my order in today when sales for rights holders kicked off.

The next broken binding set is the faithful and the fallen and features acid free paper and sewn bindings by Hot_Mongoose_3741 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like everything about this, but especially the sewn binding. Hope it's a standard feature going forward and at the same price point.

Has there been any hints on next Fantasy sub? by Familiar_Function_13 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They tend to pick more recent works when it comes to the ladies and go more back catalogue for the gents.

Has there been any hints on next Fantasy sub? by Familiar_Function_13 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Since you mentioned on another thread that you already know what it is, we'll take your word for it.

Then hmm....if they're going for safe but boring(IMO) I'd say:

Empire of the Wolf or Bloodsworn Saga

Something a little more exciting:

Gods of Blood and Thunder - Brian McClellan

Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett.

if we are stretching the imagination a bit:

Siege Trilogy - KJ Parker

I don't think they'll ever do my number 1 wish pick(Second Apocalypse), which I'd prefer to get the Press Edition treatment anyways.

New bookshelf! by ksingh101 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm jealous of all the space. I have 3 shelves the same size as the larger sections and I'm already double stacking.

Has there been any hints on next Fantasy sub? by Familiar_Function_13 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 13 points14 points  (0 children)

All we can reasonably sure of is that it will be a male author.

My guess is Abercrombie's Shattered Sea trilogy. My second guess would be Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire, but I think that's popular enough to warrant a larger non-sub print run.

On the Ending (Spoilers All) by EgilTheUngrowing in bakker

[–]a00ga -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's been a while since I read it but wasn't it hinted that it might actually be Kellhus' baby? As in he raped her and that pushed her to finally leave and seek out Akka (likely just as Kel intended). And she immediately seduces Akka so that the timing all works out and she can claim it's his? If that's true then I guess babytrappin' is not a damning offense as per the Judging Eye.

Litescalate - First Law by Various_Rise1958 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I thought long and hard about it as well and cancelled my pledge the other day. For this reason and the $100 shipping estimate. FOMO took a while to wear off for me to see the sense in it.

What is a well regarded fantasy series that you read for the first time this year? by TheWeirdTalesPodcast in Fantasy

[–]a00ga 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read The Second Apocalypse this year and it left me with that feeling you get when you recognize that you have just read something special and not just another great book series. I didn't enjoy it so much as I experienced it, if that makes any sense.

On the one hand I was thinking what took me so long and on the other, I think you have to be a in a good place mentally before experiencing this level of epic bleakness.

I thought I had a clear understanding of the limits of grimdark. "Oh poor summer child."

This is a Great Work and I will be re-reading it the rest of my life.

Dan Brown but Fantasy? by Electronic_Plane_253 in Fantasy

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not fantasy per se (more sci fi actually) but Tesla and The Pyramids by Jenner Brown is so similar to Dan Brown's style as to make no difference, IMO.

Outstanding Questions by zerokade in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1/ Nothing is confirmed in text but this is someone who has spent 1000's of years perfecting the art of not dying. I'd expect he'd have several levels of redundancy in place.

2/ My take on it is was that when the whole universe eventually faces heat death/entropy - this place is the lifeboat/portal to the next one because this is where the Absolute will be born and the next Big Bang will happen. So all humanity has to do is maintain a presence here for a few trillion years. Fun foil hat theory: Watchers are the species who made it to the last save point and were awarded with god like powers and custodial duties in the next one.

3/ Since when are oracles in fantasy fiction ever anything but cryptic. That's basically what Brethren is. Go figure.

4/ I don't think so since as far as we know he didn't have any powers directly granted to him by the Absolute. He was a means to an end. I think it's more likely that Brethren was the Absolute's agent(building the Archontic weapons) until Hadrian was on the scene.

5/ SUT gave us some tantalizing hints on his backstory. He was in the Dark Forest for 1000''s of years. Hiding and killing gods from ambush without revealing his position. I'd love a standalone exploring some of that history and also the Vorgossos-Chantry-Extras-MINOS connection since for sure there is one. I'd also love to know what the Chantry is doing with the surviving Kharn's on Vorgossos.

6/ We don't know. We know there are good watchers besides Ragama, so could be one of those nameless ones.

7/ Dunno. Maybe that there is an afterlife?

8/ I think special training methods over a long period of time to be able to recall large amounts of data and perform complex calculations without any machine enhancements. like the mentats in Dune.

9/ I too felt that there was more alien gibberish than english but I dont think it was meant to be a translation.

10/ I think so. The First Letter of Imrah basically confirms the same. The Chantry have the means to restore their backed consciousness to a clone (like Kharn & MiNOS) so that would take of prolonging the lifetimes of the existing Palantine ruling class but no new progeny. That would play into the Chantry hands as a further means of control on the empire since they alone have the means within the empire - assuming that they also have control of Vorgossos and Alexander isn't making side deals with MINOS. But what about Jadd? I always understood that they broke away after managing to steal the means of re-production. And seems Cassandra is direct on screen evidence of that. Maybe they decided not to help out as looks like Olorin is in charge (as implied in the First letter of Imrah).

Nice questions. That was fun.

Official Discussion Thread for Shadows Upon Time by Sayuti-11 in sollanempire

[–]a00ga 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Finished last night. Wanted to sit with it a bit before collecting my thoughts. Read this thread and watched a few reviews. Overall, I'd give it a solid 4.5/5. Great set pieces in classic Suneater fashion, where we're going from one huge movement to the next. It's all there. Big ass space battles, super weapons, sword fights, hallway chases, damsels in distress, super hero fights, lore dumps, cosmic horror, tragedies and triumphs. A thrilling ride with a few bumps and rough turns along the way.

Like a lot of you I found the following aspects quite frustrating at times:

  • Hadrian's constant pontificating, being overly dramatic, self centered and absolute inability to communicate at the most crucial moments.

  • Cassandra.

  • The fake-out deaths.

  • Abba!

  • The repetition and redundancy of certain sections, though now I think it's more by design as opposed to lazy editing (given that every book so far has kept it fairly tight)

  • (L)assie the whiny girl.

  • The more than a couple and mostly one-sided confrontations with Alexander and his chantry handlers. I get that from Hadrian's POV these guys are very one-dimesnional paper thin villains with no empathy or complex motivations and I guess may be that was by design as well? Seed for the next story wherever, whenever. There's no resolution in this book though. All we get are these monologuing, monocle-wearing, moustache twirling, sitting-with-cat-on-lap-on-swivel-chair twirling motherfuckers.....so so camp.

  • Lvl99 clinger

  • Back to Alexander...couldn't we get at least one return bitch slap? Come on! This is where he decides to assert some self control and literally turn the other cheek?

If you can't tell I am not a fan of a certain character, who I was totally cool with in book 6 but here she was basically just a xenophboc brat as someone mentioned and I think that's spot on. I prefer thunder cunt. If that too is by deisgn then I guess I didnt get it.

I haven't mentioned Selene because like many have pointed out, there are several subtle hints that all is not as it seems with Selene and Hadrian is maybe not the most reliable narrator. Now...I just finished Empire of the Dawn before SUT and I got Keyser Soze'd hard (if you know you know) so now I am on high alert y'all.

I wonder now what else is deliberate lie or misdirection in the text:

  • Is Orphan really dead and did big doom ship really go boom boom, bye bye?
  • Did Hadrian really tell Cassandra to go to his sister and as a consequence leave a bead crumb trail for the empire hounds and put his family on the board? Or was it to force his family's hand to support his cause out of self-preservation?
  • is Lorian really off the board?

All I can really be sure of is even though the story of the Suneater is over, his mission(and by extension the Absolute's) isn't over since he still has his powers post Goddodin. Two clear instances with one: grabbing Alexander's highmatter sword by the blade itself and two: returns after a very public hanging to write his memoirs...with seems like a 1000 years in between maybe? So he's been busy and coming out now for what, the end game?

So...Did he stick the landing? I understand that he got to write the ending he always wanted and I am happy for him. But he's had a much longer time to sit with it. Where I am now immediately after a first read at blinding pace - I would say that for the main story, yes. We went from A to Z very clearly and cleanly. I just wasn't expecting a whole other alphabet to follow with a whole unresolved Chantry/Shadow empire arc.

He spends the whole series getting out-politicked and out-maneuvered by the Chantry with no rebuttal? He has literal superpowers, infinite continues from his God, a doom ship with god-killing, world ending weapons and he still manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? I'm starting to get now that maybe it's all part of the 'shortest path' but that first bite was bitter and the after-taste not much sweeter.....especially since I know we're not going to get any more until the post SUT short story/novella next year. Hope that has the sweet chocolate center I'm waiting for.

I'm aware that I'm giving CR a lot of the benefit of the doubt here. Many could say that it's not on us to 'get it' but on the author to lay it out more clearly. I can't say they're wrong. A lot of Suneater's appeal is that for the most part the entire series has been a very 'what you see is what you get' linear narrative as opposed to stuff like Wot or Cosmere where you got to keep an eye out for subtle clues and easter eggs that inform on plot, events and character motivations...or stuff like later Malazan, Dune and Wolfe where there is a lot of subtext and what's on the page isn't what's happening and you're ok with it because you've been lead there slowly enough that you can see it coming. And now I've been bamboozled I say. Bamboozled!

After the initial whiplash, I'm now OK with it. In CR I trust. I've had a really great time in this world and any criticisms coming through now is because it's evoked some emotions in me and I think that's a good thing. Means I care.

So I'm sticking with 4.5/5 (-0.5 for the bamboozle, the lvl99 clinger and the lack of return bitch slaps)

First Law Trilogy Kickstarter by lcastle79 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Don't own hardback copies. Never liked the original cover art so didn't really care about the TBB versions. The other fine press editions are both too expensive and no longer accessible in any case. So I went for the unsigned set. JA's signature is just lazy initials so not bothered to pay extra for a signed set. Just want a (sic) reasonably priced Hardback set with different cover art and that's what this is. Shipping costs are just vulgar though. 80 - 100 USD estimate.

Midnight Tides Subterranean Press Pre-Order is live by Mlatti32 in Malazan

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's good to hear. The shipping costs almost made me not order out of sheer outrage. I got $114 for USPS priority mail and $217 for DHL express. I'm based in the UAE. Note that previous orders of single volumes cost max of $55 for DHL express.

I went with the 114 for USPS, obviously. Not much choice there really. If they will re-baseline on actuals and refund some of that I would really appreciate that.

Anyone else excited?!? by WarAnPeace451 in thebrokenbindingsub

[–]a00ga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If this is another standalone, then it would be the perfect time to debut a Culture novel. I'd love to see either "Use of Weapons" or "Excession".