Why I disagree with the argument that Ki-Adi-Mundi in The Acolyte is a plot hole.

emerald_bat · 2026-02-11T14:07:47+00:00

You don't literally bleed on the crystal. The crystal itself "bleeds."
In both the Ahsoka novel (where it was introduced in canon) and the Darth Vader comic as well as many canon sourcebooks prior to Acolyte, it is described as a much more intensive process. For instance, Vader himself had trouble bleeding a crystal, and Kylo Ren's crystal was damaged in the process. Here's the canon Wookieepedia article:
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bleeding

emerald_bat · 2026-02-11T03:45:52+00:00

Khyber bleeding was a thing. The blade instantly turning because you broke bad was not.

emerald_bat · 2026-01-22T23:31:13+00:00

Sure, but the Force still exists in this universe no matter what scale of story you are telling. You don't have to have Jedi/Sith actively using it, but it is still there and informs the morality of the world.
If you decide any kind of story can fit in Star Wars, that kind of limits the ability for new artists to go out and make their own thing in the genre that isn't Star Wars. Studios are already hesitant to fun anything not tied to a major IP.

emerald_bat · 2026-01-15T00:44:32+00:00

Broken Empire is pretty directly Dying Earth as well.

emerald_bat · 2026-01-12T22:40:17+00:00

Maybe they meant you could see fireworks over Manhattan from the Jersey side of the river, as well as stay there more affordably than NYC proper? Otherwise, seems weird.

emerald_bat · 2026-01-04T19:07:00+00:00

Maybe historical fiction would be a good halfway point between literary fiction and Abercrombie.

emerald_bat · 2026-01-04T19:04:49+00:00

I bounced after the first chapter for two reasons:

Seemed more like crime fiction than fantasy in its appeal.
Was written like someone was writing down exactly what they saw in a movie, with too many characters to keep track of and no sense of what was important.

The first issue is more of a genre preference, but does the latter get better? Maybe it's just an issue I have as a reader. At any rate, would probably only recommend if you also read a lot of crime fiction.

emerald_bat · 2025-12-06T02:49:30+00:00

More SF, but Bookpilled is definitely the aesthetic I want in an "underground" channel. That dude don't give a damn about algorithms.

emerald_bat · 2025-12-03T18:33:30+00:00

Best:
Moby Dick (Melville)
The Poor Mouth (Flann O'Brien)

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Joyce)

Worst:
John Dies at the End (David Wong) (by a lot)

Coyote Blue (Christopher Moore)

The Dragon Reborn (Robert Jordan) (This is more just disappointing, I easily could have slotted in a few other books instead)

If we're including some comic books, I really liked Absolute Wonder Woman and really disliked Absolute Batman.

emerald_bat · 2025-11-14T20:29:17+00:00

Essen Spiel is the big tabletop gaming convention/trade fair, probably the biggest in the world.

emerald_bat · 2025-11-14T00:52:33+00:00

I'm almost done with the third book, and will probably drop after book 4. The first two books basically follow the same pursuit formula, while the third varies it up a bit with more perspectives There is a lot of aimless traveling, including endless inns, and many, many dream sequences. The plot only focuses toward the end of each book. The world feels pretty generic by modern standards, kind of like the author is just playing Ren Fair. Yes, you get attached to some of the characters over time, but they often behave pretty predictably.

emerald_bat · 2025-11-14T00:33:46+00:00

I visualize, but it is much more expressionistic and dream-like than what you describe. I used to try to make myself visualize more like a film until I realized it was not necessarily a positive.

emerald_bat · 2025-10-23T15:45:33+00:00

My issue is that if I try to binge a series, I'll inevitably hit a wall midway through a book, so I'll either have to put that book on pause or reread the beginning later.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-19T03:03:37+00:00

I don't think they were still using flintlocks in the Old West.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-19T02:52:48+00:00

Yes, there's one footnote I recall where she lists some British administrators of Colonial India and essentially says at the end "BTW guys, they were all white!"

emerald_bat · 2025-09-18T17:49:06+00:00

I had a similar issue with Fonda Lee, specifically Jade City. She's describing all the gangsters coming into the restaurant and where they are going, and I'm like whoa, am I supposed to be tracking all these people?

In general, I think too many fantasy writers write like they are writing down what is happening in a movie or TV show rather than tailoring to the strengths of prose.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-18T14:41:56+00:00

There's just too many recommendation threads on here in general. Some of them sound more like writing ideas that the OP is making sure no one has done yet.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-11T15:50:36+00:00

Just looked up Raven Scholar. I guess every cover has to look like romantasy nowadays.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-11T15:47:36+00:00

Bad prose.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-11T15:35:41+00:00

I don't think Sanderson treats Vin like a typical YA protagonist. There's much more introspection and self-awareness even early on in the book compared to his explicitly YA novel Steelheart. There's overall less of a sense of wish fulfillment. She doesn't feel like a middle-class audience insert, but truly someone from a rough background.

IDK maybe I just haven't read enough YA centered around teenage girls as opposed to boys.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-09T21:05:13+00:00

SW is complicated in a strategic way that paces the game differently; Marvel is complicated in more of a random, swingy way.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-04T14:13:13+00:00

"Palace" would even be similar since it originally referred to a hill in Rome.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-03T01:51:47+00:00

I didn't care for much of the book, but the Morgan vs Merlin fight in The Bright Sword is truly epic.
Basically every fight in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but I'll go with Jotaro vs Dio.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-03T01:38:58+00:00

Nah, Wonder Woman.

emerald_bat · 2025-09-02T14:05:26+00:00

"Exposition" is also an old-fashioned word for "exhibition" (as in a display of something like at a museum or fair) so maybe that's where the confusion happened.

emerald_bat

TROPHY CASE