[ZaidH]

@CandelaSynth The synopsis of Star Maker sounds similar to the Three Body Problem series (no sci-fi list is complete without that masterpiece 😁), where characters mainly serve to introduce grand ideas. Is it right to assume that Star Maker is like that?

And no, I haven't seen Del Toro's take on Pinocchio 😯 Does it lean more into horror, or is it as bleak as the book?

@DoctorEldritch I'm caught in this cycle of seeing all the Discworld praise -> getting excited -> feeling confused by varying opinions on the best starting point -> giving up on reading it 😅 What would you recommend as a good starting point for Discworld?

Oh wow, so happy to see the Arab world in a fantasy setting! I’m curious about the magic system the author created 🧐

Kurt Vonnegut seems like an author perfectly suited to your tastes! His books, like Slaughterhouse-Five and The Sirens of Titan, are packed with humor and a good mix of fantasy and sci-fi. Have you read any of his works? The only Russian book I've read is The Brothers Karamazov. It had its funny moments, but I definitely felt like I missed some cultural nuances 😅.

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

@DoctorEldritch I'm caught in this cycle of seeing all the Discworld praise -> getting excited -> feeling confused by varying opinions on the best starting point -> giving up on reading it 😅 What would you recommend as a good starting point for Discworld?

I know what you mean 😅 It can be a bit overwhelming. Personally, I'd suggest reading the novels in chronological order while keeping in mind that there are several intertwined sub-series. When I was reading it, I was using this visual guide that I can recommend:



So you start with The Color of Magic and then move to The Light Fantastic and then Equal Rites and so on, but you can always see what theme novel you are reading, and "starting points" for each theme series are indicated, too. You have Wizards that first focus on the adventures of a wizard Rincewind, but then evolve into stories about the wizarding staff of the Unseen University. Witches is about Granny Weatherwax, and so forth.

Maybe the magic system in Daevabad will be more familiar to you. It has djinns, ifrits, and so on. The author is known to do folklore research for her books; she talks about it on her site, too. Fun fact: she is now working on a new trilogy set in the 12th-century Indian Ocean about pirates, the first book is already out. So if you like, you can play Majima Pirate and read about pirates at the same time 😉

I have not read Kurt Vonnegut, I am afraid. Somehow most of the books I read are from the 80s onwards, Kurt Vonnegut debuted in the 50s. I'll give him a try.

The Brothers Karamazov is Dostoevsky, it is very heavy. We read it in school (which, personally, I do not entirely agree with, I think you need to be further in life to fully appreciate it, like the second course in Uni, but that may be just me). And yeah, it has cultural nuances that may be easily lost, Dostoevsky in particular is known for them.

[CandelaSynth]

@ZaidH

yeah, I haven´t watched the 3 body problem but it fits the description. And yeah, as the title suggests it´s all about the universe and creation, it´s huge in terms of ideas, hehe. Remember that it was written in 1937, so many people consider it the first SciFi book (at least in Western literature).
And I truly recommend Del Toro version of Pinocchio, it isn´t horror as such but it´s dark, and probably more aligned with the original book ideas (I´ve never read it btw, should I?)ç
Regarding Discworld (big fan here too), I´ve just started with the first book: The colour of Magic

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Oh my lawd, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that reading guide 😆 But after reading your description, I feel a bit more confident diving in. Once I finish The Sparrow (an amazing first-contact story btw), I'll start The Color of Magic 👍

So if you like, you can play Majima Pirate and read about pirates at the same time 😉

Lols now that’s a cool thought 😁 After Stormlight Archive book five, I'll need some fantasy, so I hope the Daevabad series will scratch that itch.

Brothers K in school!? Wow, that’s hardcore 😱 The book covers every topic imaginable. Whenever Ivan and Staret Josima started speaking, my reading comprehension dropped to zero 😭 I bet Smerdyakov was a favorite among the students because of his name 🫣

As for Vonnegut, his writing feels surprisingly modern. The tech may seem a bit dated, but the dark humor is the main draw. Slaughterhouse-Five is often considered his best, so that might be a great starting point (most of his works are standalone).

@CandelaSynth It’ll be cool to see what sci-fi concepts were inspired by Star Maker 😄 If it dives into extraterrestrial life, I’m all in. I can’t really recommend the original Pinocchio since I’ve only read a detailed summary of it 😅 I'll save the Del Toro movie for when I’m in the mood for something depressing 🫥 Do share your impressions of The Color of Magic after you're done with it.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH It becomes less complicated when you get into it, and the series takes a bit of time to "warm up", it really starts to shine after Reaper Man, I'd say. That is not to say that books before that are not worth reading, they very much are, but it is at that point when the main lore is established and the whole series becomes multifaceted and intricately layered. Though @CandelaSynth may have a different opinion 😅

Isn't Stormlight Archive fantasy too? High one, but still?

Yeah, our schools were pretty hardcore back in the day, we read Crime and Punishment, The Lower Depths, Dead Souls and others. This is one of the reasons why I am like this 😅

Smerdyakov was no longer funny at that age, but you were still not mature enough to fully grasp the themes of the book.

If it's a standalone and not a series, I will give Slaughterhouse-Five a try and see how I feel about it. But first I want to finish the Thursday Next series. The next book is to come out next year, and it will be 13 years then since the last book came out.

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH I am catching up on everything and read that you got Kindle (kudos!), wanted to check what type of Kindle do you have, is it by any chance unlimited?

[CandelaSynth]

@ZaidH

Oh, then you´re in for a treat...it literally talks about LIFE itself, but I will say no more!! ; )
Del Toro´s Pinocchio isn't depressing I thought it was quite beautiful, but it isn´t definitely not Disney, heheh

@DoctorEldritch
I agree actually (the books with the Reaper as a main storyline are my favourite). Still, I think the first couple of books are indispensable to get into the lore (And Rincewind is a great character, it needs some credit!) Did you ever play the games? I only played the first one, back in the days of the point-and-click graphic adventures and I loved the art so much (but I don´t know if I´d have the patience these days to complete any of those games).

[DoctorEldritch]

@CandelaSynth I am afraid not. I read those books somewhat late in life, and I did not want to play the games before I read them. I want to play Discworld Noir, but right now I am hoping that it will be done as a remaster or remake someday, the original is hard to run on modern machines well, it is literally from the last millennium.

[CandelaSynth]

@DoctorEldritch

hahaha, literally...man, this makes me feel old!! XD
And I believe that eventually Hollywood claws will get on everything Discworld (since there´s soooooo much material and they seem to be running out of remakes to do, hehe) so a remaster of that game is plausible.
I´d recommend this one though, but as she said, the puzzles are ridiculous!! (don´t watch the whole video if you´re interested in playing the game, there´s spoilers ahead!)

[DoctorEldritch]

@CandelaSynth After whatever that "The Watch" series was, I am honestly not sure. I know Terry's daughter is protective of his legacy, she does not allow anyone to write any more books in that universe, not sure how they managed to push through that series.

Personally, I'd be happy if there were more series based on those books (and the cartoons about witches were not too bad, if a bit childish), but after "The Watch" I only have this to say: "If you are going to do it, STiCK TO THE BOOKS TO THE LETTER". That's all I am asking.

As for the games, I'd play it as soon as it got a modernised release. I mean, Full Throttle got one, Day of the Tentacle got one, Little Big Adventure is getting one soon, so why not this? Come on...