zkrisher

zkrisher, 2 days ago to bookstodon

Jagannath by Karen Tidbeck is on the Audible Plus catalog at the moment.

This is a great introduction to Tidbeck's work. Usually I pause between short stories in a collection by the same author, the same way I pause between books by the same author, so the reading doesn't get monotonous.

Karen Tidbeck's work is different enough to keep me excited at every twist and turn.

Weird, Dark, thought provoking, familiar enough yet different.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/38414cbb-b50c-4524-ab9b-97f2f0672eb8

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #SFF #audible

alttexthalloffame, 7 days ago to art

Shout out to all the #webcomic artists who properly describe the images they share, so that we can all enjoy their work!

Some highlights:

• @davidrevoy
• @heyheymomo
• @smolrobots
• @foxes_in_love (unofficial)

Feel free to tag more folks in the comments!

#AltText #art

zkrisher, 8 days ago to Eurovision

The Eurovision contest final reminded me of Catherine M. Valente's excellent Space Opera, that was heavily influenced by the European song contest.

This is still my favorite Valente novel and her flowery prose is very well suited to the audio format with an impressive performance by Heath Miller.

There's even a sequel on the way.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6b1d509d-3d30-4d8c-b8f4-5f35a029ad79

@bookstodon #bookstodon #eurovision #ScienceFiction #AudioBooks

zkrisher, 9 days ago to fantasy

I've finished: House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

House of Open Wounds wasn't what I expected.

It's not a middle book in a trilogy, it has an ending. It's not about the mysterious Woods at the edge of Ilmar that were so promenant at the end of City of Last Chances.

It's about my favorite characters from that novel, Yasnic and his God. It's about the healers that are allowed to work their miracles at the periphery of the Pall war camp because they are useful. It dangles the promise of healing in return for pacifism at a humanity that can't stop fighting.

Like City of Last Chances, it's about the people stuck in the gears of the Palleseen Empire's ambitions. Not about kings and emperors.

Tchaikovsky has grown allot at a writer since the Shadow of the Apt series and has written a very compelling story that concentrates on engaging characters.

I couldn't put it down, I listened at every opportunity. It did sometimes feel repetitive and perhaps could have been shorter. But the ending clinched it all and most of it payed off brilliantly.

A friend of mine told me that the characters in this series remind him of Pratchett characters and that House of Open Wounds reminds him of Monstrous Regiment. Now that he has brought my attention to it, I can't unsee it.

Tchaikovsky isn't Pratchett and isn't trying to be Pratchett. He is not trying to be funny, but the social commentary, humanism and satire are reminiscent of Pratchett.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/23aec627-a8f8-4d9c-82e9-b45299690f28

@bookstodon #bookstodon #fantasy #AudioBooks #satire

zkrisher, 15 days ago to accessibility

Sonos is considered a recommended speaker brand in the blind community.

Both because many blind people are audiophiles, and because their app is screen reader accessible.

However, Sonos is about to release a new version of their app and at the moment it looks like it will be practically unusable for the blind.

Screen reader users that will not prevent their devices from updating will lose access to the expensive hardware they have purchased.

https://mosen.org/sonos2024/

#accessibility #blind #sonos #IOS #android

zkrisher, 24 days ago to fantasy

I've finished: Illuminations by T. Kingfisher

I love the comfort reading T. Kingfisher provides. But Illuminations was too cozy for me.

It is aimed at the younger end of the YA spectrum . It could easily be categorized as middle grade.

While there is some tension, Rosa is coddled, loved and protected by her family and any tension is the result of a misunderstanding. She is the center of the universe and saves the day.

There are no real consequences to the mistakes she makes.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/02b5769f-00c6-4e21-970c-99616266e85c

I preferred the plot of Minor Mage, where a protagonist of a similar age group has to deal with peril without adult assistance and with only minor magical powers. Assisted only by his trusty familiar.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/31b237d9-2ad9-4bc1-8364-5f94c5251c5f

@bookstodon #bookstodon #fantasy #AudioBooks

zkrisher, 26 days ago to sciencefiction

Providence By: Max Barry is on sale on Audible.

A reimagining of Ender's Game with AI and reality TV.

This is not a novel about a reality show. It's a theme not the prism through which the story is told.

Max Berry's novels are usually light hearted even though they deal with serious issues. Don't expect levity from Providence, it is darker than his usual fair and eventually more powerful.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Providence-Audiobook/0593163508?ref_pageloadid=2IbQtPkBWWDRPIj2&ref=a_ep_replay_c10_lProduct_1_11&pf_rd_p=f42e5ca1-49b3-41b6-b782-3eeb38be88f3&pf_rd_r=SQ9GNHTRCG2HEEJNPPXH&pageLoadId=J58th4uujrmGgbuP&creativeId=260364f3-b4fe-4828-ad05-b8f30e49e083

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #audible #sale #ScienceFiction

zkrisher, 26 days ago to sciencefiction

The Last Human by Zack Jordan is on sale on Audible.

"Most days, Sarya doesn't feel like the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. Most days, she's got other things on her mind. Like hiding her identity among the hundreds of alien species roaming the corridors of Watertower Station".

This is a brilliant novel with a ton of sci-fi tropes and concepts crammed into it.
Aimed at a YA audience new to SF it will still thrill a more experienced Sci-fi reader with references to well known works.

Kind of like an animated film for the whole family with references aimed at the parents peppering a story ark meant for a younger audience.

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Last-Human-Audiobook/0593167864?ref_pageloadid=2IbQtPkBWWDRPIj2&ref=a_ep_replay_c10_lProduct_1_7&pf_rd_p=f42e5ca1-49b3-41b6-b782-3eeb38be88f3&pf_rd_r=SQ9GNHTRCG2HEEJNPPXH&pageLoadId=J58th4uujrmGgbuP&creativeId=260364f3-b4fe-4828-ad05-b8f30e49e083

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #audible #sale #scienceFiction

zkrisher, 1 month ago to bookstodon

I've finished: The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck

Something's rotten in paradise.

Tidbeck weaves a complicated web stretching across multiple worlds, histories, folk tales and broken utopian dreams that ultimately deals with evil and the power of stories to fight it.

It's interesting to read a sci-fi author from a different culture that also has her own way of interpreting the multiverse and the power of story and imagination.

I hope more of her work will be translated.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5706ff39-8beb-4e7e-ad38-0c15bbf352dd

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #SFF #dystopian

zkrisher, 1 month ago to bookstodon

I expected to like this book better.

A post-apocalyptic scenario written by a woman, concentrating on the psychological and sociological aspects of survival. It must stand the test of time better than Niven's Lucifer's Hammer, (That was also published in 1977).

But since the science didn't make much sense, (I didn't see a reason why cloning would have the effects described), I ended up looking at the attributes Kate Wilhelm decided to give clones as opposed to "Humans" and all I see is the American fears about communism.

They lose their individuality, their creativity, the ability to innovate, and for some reason monogamy, (perhaps she was afraid of hippies?).

In 2024, Where Late the Sweet Bird Sang felt more like a historical document that teaches you about the culture at the time of its writing than a Sci-Fi novel.

PS.
An enjoyable aspect: The audiobook narrator, Anna Fields, sound remarkably like Ellen DeGeneres.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5b2154cb-0e77-42df-9752-dc85fe6dee0f

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #SFF

zkrisher, 1 month ago to bookstodon

There is a 2 for 1 credit sale on Audible.

Here are recommend:

Translation State By: Ann Leckie

This is sci-fi with alien aliens, something not as common as you'd think. But it is first and formost about consent and found family.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Translation-State-Audiobook/B0BJ4GXG7B?qid=1712844470&sr=1-8&ref_pageloadid=cAacM1nNDtRbg49I&ref=a_special-p_c3_lProduct_1_8&pf_rd_p=f1c3032f-59e7-4b45-9026-e60372f10b98&pf_rd_r=9JMDV68RQDVZV7P3TA5K&pageLoadId=sCpTyEWP45n6N1ud&creativeId=145bde4b-b9a9-4631-a3bc-243000116475

Land of Milk and Honey By: C Pam Zhang

"A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing. A chef escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles".

(I haven't read it yet, but heard good things and am getting it myself)

https://www.audible.com/pd/Land-of-Milk-and-Honey-Audiobook/B0BWPL7DP9?qid=1712844470&sr=1-12&ref_pageloadid=cAacM1nNDtRbg49I&ref=a_special-p_c3_lProduct_1_12&pf_rd_p=f1c3032f-59e7-4b45-9026-e60372f10b98&pf_rd_r=9JMDV68RQDVZV7P3TA5K&pageLoadId=sCpTyEWP45n6N1ud&creativeId=145bde4b-b9a9-4631-a3bc-243000116475

The Broken Room By: Peter Clines

More of an action movie than a novel, a fast paced page turner.

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Broken-Room-Audiobook/B09SGQ1B44?qid=1712844470&sr=1-15&ref_pageloadid=cAacM1nNDtRbg49I&ref=a_special-p_c3_lProduct_1_15&pf_rd_p=f1c3032f-59e7-4b45-9026-e60372f10b98&pf_rd_r=9JMDV68RQDVZV7P3TA5K&pageLoadId=sCpTyEWP45n6N1ud&creativeId=145bde4b-b9a9-4631-a3bc-243000116475

Footfall By: Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

This i s an old one, but a thought experiment of it's time.

How would humanity fight off an alien invasion with the tehcnology and resources that were available in the 1980s.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Footfall-Audiobook/B003NTPCJE?qid=1712847468&sr=1-36&ref_pageloadid=sCpTyEWP45n6N1ud&ref=a_special-p_c3_lProduct_2_16&pf_rd_p=f1c3032f-59e7-4b45-9026-e60372f10b98&pf_rd_r=JJ4GGS4ZXJT9R2PC5WBH&pageLoadId=AxaX8VUf01KbfPza&creativeId=145bde4b-b9a9-4631-a3bc-243000116475

@bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #audiobooks #audible #sale

zkrisher, 1 month ago to bookstodon

I've finished: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Every time I reread Going Postal I like it even better. This is indeed Pratchett at his finest.

As a conman is running for US president again, and the true faces of billionaires are exposed, Going Postal also becomes more and more relevant.

This time I listened to the new audio edition, narrated by Richard Coyle and it was very good.

I must admit that I had trouble with my previous attempts to listen to the new audio editions. I may be getting old and cranky, almost 50. But there was always at least one character I found it hard to listen to. Be it Nanny Ogg in the witches novels, or Vorbis in Small Gods. Nanny should always sound like she is smiling, and planning something, Vorbis has a calculating quiet evil soul, he will condemn you to death without showing emotion. He would not sound like he is planning something nefarious.

I think the actors hired to read the new editions are too good. Most of the Discworld novels have characters that are suited to more exaggerated acting. I think Going Postal is different because it is so well written, it works with more subtle acting and Coyle understands the essence of all the main characters.

I'm also having trouble with the footnote sound effects in the new audio editions. They break the flow; I end up forgetting what they refer too. It's kinda like the effect you get when entering a room and finding that you've forgotten why you went there.

Yet again the footnote sounds didn't bother me as much this time. Perhaps I'm getting used to them.

Luckily, I still own the older versions and can listen to the edition I prefer.

Rant over.

I highly recommend this edition of Going Postal.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/d3c6f9ab-b790-4ee8-a96d-3e85d3552492

@bookstodon #bookstodon #AudioBooks #antasy #satire #pratchett #SpeakHisName

zkrisher, 1 month ago to accessibility

It's April, people are already talking about WWDC and looking forward to IOS 18.

IOS 17.5 beta has dropped and fixes for serious issues with VoiceOver's Hebrew text to speech, introduced in IOS 17 have not been addressed by Apple.

I'm a fan of IOS devices and their commitment to accessibility.

However, when half a year after introducing a but that causes the Hebrew TTS to say a long string of gibberish (xb7xd78), every time it encounters an apostrophe is making doubt Apple's commitment to it's users outside the US.

Sounds like J or ch are written using a Hebrew letter plus an apostrophe. So every time VoiceOver sees teh word Chat it says C-xb7xd78-ats.

The blind IOS community here as distributed a custom punctuation pronunciation file that helps by telling VoiceOver not to pronounce apostrophes, but this still causes such word's to be mispronounced. Tsats instead of Chats, but at least it's bearable.

I don't think such a glaring bug would have been ignored by Apple if it happened in English.

#accessibility #blind #apple #IOS #VoiceOver #hebrew

zkrisher, 1 month ago to animals

Feel the Wheat

#DogsOfMastodon #wheat #dogs

zkrisher, 1 month ago to bookstodon

I've finished: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky explores some very interesting themes in this novella.

· Sufficiently advanced technology as indistinguishable from magic.
· Interstellar colonization.
· Linguistics.
· Mythology.
· The prime directive.
· Lowliness.
· Depression.

All packaged in a quest to save the kingdom from a mysterious threat.

A beautiful tale that can be regarded as a homage to Ursula K. Le Guin.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/47631f94-a73d-4c72-8af4-42a1bae89fea

@bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #audiobookds

zkrisher, 1 month ago to dystopia

I've finished: The Sky is Your's by Chandler Klang Smith.

My first attempt to read The Sky is Yours ended with me throwing it in the Audible App's archive. It starts with a rich brat crashing on a garbage island and immediately taking advantage of a naïve girl. I wanted nothing to do with it.

I forgot about it and when I encountered the title again, I gave it a listen. When you continue reading, you understand that his is a satire about late stage capitalism and no one likes the rich brat.

As we follow the three main characters, the afore mentioned rich brat, a naïve girl raised alone by an insane mother with anti-technology beliefs and my favorite, Swani a rich well educated and over achieving girl. We learn more and more about the corrupt world they are inheriting.

This is a mix of stupidity, and smarts. Some parts are dumb on purpose and some are dumb for comedic effect. Some parts are smart and some downright poetic. Each of our protagonists will find a mentor that will help them grow, but they are not being cuddled and their paths are winding. Again, I was impressed with Swany's journey.

Swany is also overweight, I'm not saying it's never referred to as unattractive, but men are attracted to her both physically and intellectually.

The ending detracted a bit from my rating, as we step back from the interesting characters and take a more distant view of the aftermath.

Surprisingly much more cerebral than expected.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/1d3a356f-ce48-4b7c-afa7-cf44e31de87f

@bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #dystopia #satire #audiobooks

zkrisher, 1 month ago to fantasy

I've finished: Six-Guns Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente

This one has been on my wishlist for a while. It was hard to get in audio with an Israeli credit cart and I wasn't completely sure about it since I'm not much of a western fan.

I'm very glad I managed to get my hands on it.

I love Velente's writing. I love that the Snow White reimagining is only one aspect of the novella. I love that Snow isn't the only character in distress and that the oppression and dispossession is explored in more than one way. I love how far she had to go to find peace, that there was no quick magic fix.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/af34fcb4-75d4-40ff-98dd-ba5f5e4ae1fc

@bookstodon #bookstodon #audiobooks #fantasy #feminism #western

zkrisher, 2 months ago to bookstodon

I've joined a reading challange on The Story Graph, that is a list of SFF sub genres.

There is no dead line, just read something in on e of the many sub genres and add it to the appropriate prompt.

This has prompted me to learn about the sub genres and how they may apply to the SFF books I read.

I'm not pedantic about it and I know one book can belong to more than one category and/or be difficult to pigeonhole.

I've recently read, The Saint of Bright Doors. I placed it under Mythic Fantasy, but also thought of placing it under urban Fantasy.

If you've read it, what do you think? Which prompt is more suitable for it?

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/fff6ad46-1acf-4f0b-a841-b769b72f7d14

@thestorygraph #TheStoryGraph @bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #genres

zkrisher, 2 months ago to bookstodon

I've finished: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

This is a story about revenge, about revolution, about the power to change the world, about an anti-hero who wants to escape his destiny.

It is a story of myth, of political philosophy, of religion, of racism, of classism, of pogroms and oppression.

There is a creation myth, there is a fractured city, there is a plague, there are doors to nowhere, there is a support group for unchosen ones, and at the center of it all there is Fetter, Who just wants to make a normal life for himself. But there are more forces trying to manipulate him into action than he suspects.

There is so much here, I'm sure I missed allot of cultural and historical references, but at it's core, this is a book about an autocrat that needs to be stopped and at it's center is a reluctant anti-hero and it is brilliantly written.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a573df8f-4918-4f62-8e1c-93919be7fb15

@bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #audiobooks #antifa

zkrisher, 2 months ago to fantasy

I've finished: A Spindle Splintered by Alex E. Harrow

A Spindle Splintered has all the right elements, examining the sleeping beauty archetype in folklore through a feminist lens. Connecting the dying princess story to that of a contemporary terminally ill girl.

So why didn't I enjoy it? The writing is clunky, there is hardly any challenge, Zinnia can just walls into a mediaeval castle and do as she pleases. All she needs is attitude. The opposition is ludicrously inept or turns out to be on her side.

I recommend reading: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir instead.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/af89032d-604a-4473-9e16-1fae1233af67

@bookstodon #bookstodon #audiobooks #fantasy #fairytale #feminism

zkrisher, 2 months ago to sciencefiction

I've finished: Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett.

It's been a while since I last read Only You Can Save Mankind. I didn't remember the Golf War references being so prominent and now that I know Pratchett was a fan of the Wing Commander games I got more of the game play references. I'm now surprised he didn't reference the triumphal victory music you'd get after achieving a kill.

In 1991, as a 16 year old Israeli, under SCUD missile attack, carrying a gas mask with me everywhere, watching the amazing high tech air-power at work on TV, I had no anti war sentiments. I just saw a dangerous dictator getting his due.

I'm glad that I've grown since then.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/f1824bfa-5d3f-4e69-b9ad-6567c3fee8b5

@bookstodon #bookstodon #audiobooks #ScienceFiction #pratchett #SpeakHisName

zkrisher, 2 months ago to bookstodon

I've finished: Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko.

Vita Nostra was a profound experience. I worried for Sasha all the way through.

It's a gifted one, school for extraordinary children novel, Soviet style. There are no kids gloves here. The children are recruited like agents by a KGB handler. They are then coerced to perform or else their loved ones will be hurt. The tutors guide them to success, but show no mercy.

Sasha is talented and a workaholic, she is both afraid and atrackted to the mysteries and power of the Institute of Special Technologies. Will she be able to master them and keep her family safe?

There are many school for gifted children novels, especially after Harry Potter. This one is for adults.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/f1824bfa-5d3f-4e69-b9ad-6567c3fee8b5

@bookstodon #bookstodon #SFF #audiobooks

zkrisher, 2 months ago to fantasy

I've finished: Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher

This is Galen's story and we get to spend allot of time with Piper the pathologist and Stripe the gnole as they navigate an ancient maze.

This installment in the Saint of Steal series is more focused, more intense.

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5a74d9cc-19cc-4a1e-aaf4-62ac75a73c92

@bookstodon #bookstodon #fantasy #lgbtqia #audiobooks