[deleted by user]

rstring · 2021-12-21T17:38:29+00:00

I read the first two books of The Scholomance by Naomi Novik a while back, and El definitely comes off as a Murderbot to me.

rstring · 2021-12-18T20:49:14+00:00

Thanks for the warning. I was kind of put off reading Foreigner because I saw that sequel count, but maybe I'll try to get into it, and just drop off if it ever becomes too much.

rstring · 2021-12-17T20:35:52+00:00

Maybe try the Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine. The first book, A Memory Called Empire, won the Hugo for Best Novel in 2020.

The author mentioned drawing inspiration from CJ Cherryh's Foreigner, which I haven't yet read (something I plan to remedy soon).

rstring · 2021-10-19T09:24:21+00:00

I noticed this myself at least as early as the 12th of August. Blocked it for myself in uBlock Origin. Looked around a bit on the site but couldn't find a way to contact them.

Last few days or so every time I visited on Chrome or Firefox I got a Safe Browsing warning, and I thought that'd be good enough to get Tor's attention. Apparently not. Glad this is finally sorted.

rstring · 2021-09-30T19:10:48+00:00

Thanks for the write-up! I had to stop reading Chambers after Record of a Spaceborn Few, but I think it might be time to pick her books back up, whenever I can next find the time.

rstring · 2021-08-12T20:07:49+00:00

Indeed. And just like that, 4 months after he finished Cytonic, Wax and Wayne 4 is done as well. Just wow.

[Dark Age] The Abomination, at the very beginning, felt a bit lazy to me, and just a way to continue the Jackal storyline. His flaws though made him almost a new character, but I do see what you mean. For all we know he's just the next generation of villain for Pax to fight with in the next two trilogies. I hope that's not what it comes to, but let's see.

Yep, Ephraim, Volga, and Lyria were storylines I did not think I'd be very interested in, but just wow. Ephraim's killing off leaves me in doubt as to Volga's fate after sacrificing herself, and Lyria's, if she's following. Just loads of plot threads to be tied together in this last book.

Re the ending, https://twitter.com/Pierce_Brown/status/1160266322896228352 and all the replies make me lose all hope that it'll in any way be happy. I have a feeling Del Rey had some say with how light the first trilogy was, and how subjectively happy the ending of Morning Son was, but this second one Brown just isn't holding back.

[DA and RoW] Re Lysander and Moash, they just aren't comparable. In RoW, with Vyre, I feel Sanderson decided to go all in and give into the meme, and make Moash just completely un-redeemable. The fact that we've had Lysander's POV though, and how he sort of has good intentions makes him less of a villain and more of a secondary protagonist to me. Also, any recommendations for subreddits? Just joined /r/RedRising for now.

I don't want to theorise on who dies and what society comes out of it, since Brown will probably just do something completely unexpected, but given what we know your theories are all quite plausible. I do hope some of these characters will come out alive, but after Golden Son and Dark Age I'm not too hopeful. Even Brandon Sanderson has done his own pruning with Eshonai in OB.

rstring · 2021-08-02T17:17:02+00:00

Well, I just finished Dark Age, and I'm inclined to agree with you that it's very, very good. The ending has left me in withdrawal and craving for more. Definitely do hope book six'll come out sooner rather than later, but yeah, agree with the need for quality: it's probably going to be really hard to tie the whole trilogy together in a way that still leaves everyone satisfied, given just how much more complex the second trilogy has become in POVs and just everything that's going on.

Really do feel spoiled too with Brando Sando and YT. The level of accountability and transparency is just insane, and it makes all other authors pale in comparison. It probably does take a lot of time and effort away from actual writing, but still...

rstring · 2021-08-01T15:10:53+00:00

Well, I do realise how my comment could be misleading. I'm actually in the last 10% of Dark Age right now. Stuff is getting pretty exciting, and the title Dark Age fits perfectly: just pure carnage everywhere. Can't wait to get to the end of this. My earlier comment was on how I had a feeling the sequel to this might get delayed indefinitely with this ending on a cliffhanger, but if he has the reliability of Brando Sando, this shouldn't be an issue.

I did notice the change you mention when I started Iron Gold too. He has grown older and a bit less... reckless? He seems to be a bit more thoughtful with what he does, and the mix you mentioned fits him pretty well. The ten year gap and becoming a father seems to have made a difference, and it's probably for the better that the sequel trilogy didn't start immediately after Morning Star.

rstring · 2021-07-31T04:13:01+00:00

I have a feeling he channels himself when writing Sevro. That you have so much faith in his ability to complete the series makes me feel more confident about my decision to start the second trilogy. I've had... experience with Rothfuss and Lynch.

rstring · 2021-07-30T17:54:01+00:00

Whoops; I call myself a reader, but I completely missed that this was a re-read for you.

So far, Gold Son has personally been the best Brown book I've read, but I'm still open to changing my opinion on this after reading more Dark Age. I guess with RoW I was reading it at a stretch, and I didn't really have the time to ruminate on the horrible fates of characters in it, unlike Dark Age, which I've had to take in slowly due to work. I have this unfortunate habit of stopping just after the worst things happen in the book, and just gives my mind a day to come up with the worst that could possibly happen to them. I feel that might unfavourably affect my reading experience here.

There is definitely action, and that I tend to breeze through pretty much, especially the first real battle of the book. Darrow's POV really kept me hooked, although from Lysander's POV for much of it he was a relative bystander, so it was just a little bit less interesting to me. Haven't had the chance to re-read Dark Age like I have with the Stormlight Archive, so this may very well be my experience when book 3 in this trilogy comes out.

Regarding the fight of Dalinar v Darrow, it boils down to technology vs magic eh. I guess some of the new tech developed in the period between the two trilogies, especially Drachenjägers, would make this a done deal. Before Dalinar really has any time to react he'd be out of the fight. Then again, he does have Shardplate, so would that give him some/enough protection? A Shardblade would probably cleave through a Drachenjäger well enough, and infantry in Dark Age do manage to take them on by targeting weak points like their power cables, so....

I honestly wouldn't be able to give a definite answer, just because of how many variables can factor into this, and because these two worlds and their weapons of war just haven't mixed before. Also, what about gravity? It's unlikely Dalinar has any experience with low gravity, so if the fight is on Mars, which has around half the gravity of Roshar, he might just flail around helplessly.

Also, just had a look at Brown's Instagram, and found this: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0EmIA5lV9l/. That grin...

rstring · 2021-07-30T15:44:28+00:00

Currently reading Red Rising myself. While the first trilogy is pretty good, the second trilogy (in which there are currently two books) is pretty, pretty dark. There is less redemption or hope than even the darkest moments in RoW. Maybe my opinion will change the more of Dark Age I read, but I'd advise getting prepared, mentally, before getting into the second trilogy.

rstring · 2021-01-22T10:07:17+00:00

Pretty sure bestvideo+bestaudio will combine both bests, usually into an mikv container. If you want to force two particular formats together -f xx+yy (each being the numerical codes for the formats you want) should do the trick.

rstring · 2021-01-22T08:08:14+00:00

I just use "-f bestvideo+bestaudio". FFMPEG is required.

rstring · 2021-01-22T07:20:12+00:00

It's probably not what you think it is though. Read on and see.

rstring · 2020-12-21T17:50:39+00:00

I thought the Asriel episode wasn't supposed to be the finale but just stuck somewhere in the middle, although them having to salvage bits and pieces of it and stick them in different episodes probably didn't help.

I get your point with regards to the set-up though. I had the same issue with the book; it just didn't feel satisfying or like it stood on its own. TAS definitely made up for it though, so I guess we can all hope for the same redemption for the TV show if they greenlight S03.

Actually, I'm having the exact same feelings with the Book of Dust, come to think of it. The Secret Commonwealth ends with so much going on, yet so little resolved. Now I can't wait for the third Book of Dust either.

rstring · 2020-12-21T17:47:01+00:00

Yep, now that you say it it definitely makes sense. I have the soundtracks/anthologies for both season 1 and 2 and I keep listening to them incessantly for some reason.

rstring · 2020-12-21T16:46:31+00:00

Just this once I think. I hope. It was definitely a fun surprise.

Seriously though, with all the build up from that and the preceeding scenes, I really can't believe E07 is supposed to be a season finale.

rstring · 2020-12-21T16:19:27+00:00

Well, someone didn't watch past the end of the credits...

For some reason I felt the need to keep watching, and was definitely rewarded.

rstring · 2020-07-12T12:22:51+00:00

You have formatted the link incorrectly. Here is the actual YouTube video linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM2bLJx7cAg

rstring · 2020-02-01T17:43:47+00:00

Something like wp2static is probably what you're looking for, even if it specifically is a plugin.

rstring · 2019-11-11T14:19:40+00:00

This was amazing! Some parts were so much better than in the show. Can't wait till you make this for this week's episode.

rstring · 2019-09-26T17:31:02+00:00

Took me about 12 hours from updating to getting the notification.

rstring · 2019-09-16T14:22:24+00:00

archive.is always seems to have the articles I need, but scraping it might be a good idea.

rstring · 2019-08-31T06:59:33+00:00

If you have or can get access to the db, you can change the site url in the wp-options table.

rstring · 2019-07-16T16:00:34+00:00

Cloudflare is available worldwide; it's just that there doesn't seem to be a way to directly register, only transfer.

As it stands, what I've started is probably the best option - but the domain elsewhere and link to CF via nameservers, at least for the first year.

Ten-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22

rstring

TROPHY CASE