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June 18th, 2025: This weekend I'll be in Utrecht for Heroes Dutch Comic Con - the biggest con in the Netherlands! I have never been to the Netherlands so please do send me all your SECRET NETHERLANDS RECOMMENDATIONS, and I hope to see you there! – Ryan | ||
Unshelved strip originally published on Wed, 17 Dec 2014
Jun. 18th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Wed, 17 Dec 2014.
Unshelved strip originally published on Tue, 16 Dec 2014
Jun. 17th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Tue, 16 Dec 2014.
"Even though I Knew the End" by C.L. Polk
Jun. 16th, 2025 05:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rocky41_7 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
booksOn Monday's outbound commute I finished the audiobook for Even Though I Knew the End. This is a supernatural/fantasy noir romance and it does pack a lot of all three of those things into its brief 4-hour runtime.
This book relies heavily on stock film noir tropes—the veteran down-and-out private (paranormal) investigator (here a lesbian, Helen, our protagonist) who drinks too much and is haunted by past mistakes, a mysterious and sexy female client with a unique case, and "just one last" job before the PI plans to quit and retire with a beloved romantic partner. I didn't find them overused—and seeing them reworked to queer and female characters was fun—but other readers may find them too worn out even here.
Because the book is so short, it moves along at a very rapid pace. The whole thing takes place over the course of two days—the final two days before Helen's soul debt is called due and she finally has to pay the price of her warlock bargain. In this way, any rush felt appropriate, since it fit both the size of the novel and the context of Helen's urgency to get this last job done before she has to pay up.
The characters weren't super developed, but again—4-hour runtime. They're a little stock character-y, but not total cardboard cut-outs. It was disappointing for me to see Helen make the same mistake at the end of the book that she did prior to the start, as if she hadn't really learned anything, but since the novel ends promptly after that, the story never has to reckon much with it.
I was relieved that Edith, Helen's girlfriend, wasn't just the damsel in distress/goal object for Helen, which I was a bit worried about in the beginning. Edith has secrets and goals of her own.
Overall, the book was fine, and it entertained me well enough for a few days. Nothing extraordinary here, but nothing objectionable either. I will say I think keeping it short worked best for this book—I think drawing it out might have only weakened it. A fun little twist on a typical noir novel.
"The Traitor Baru Cormorant" by Seth Dickinson
Jun. 16th, 2025 05:36 pmrocky41_7 posting in booksOn Saturday afternoon, on the bus ride home, I finished The Traitor Baru Cormorant, because I couldn't wait until I got home to reach the end, despite a long history of reading-induced car sickness. It was totally worth it.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant is all fantasy politics. There's no magic or fairies or prophecies, just Seth Dickinson's invented world and the titanic machinations of Empire. And it is electric. Tentatively, I'd make a comparison to The Goblin Emperor, except that where TGE is about how Maia, completely unprepared for his role, is thrust into a viper's nest of politics, Baru Cormorant is about how Baru has painstakingly taught herself the ways of the empire and enters into the game fully prepared to rewrite the rules to her liking.
( Read more... )
I was hanging on every page by the end, and first thing Sunday morning I was off to the library to pick up the sequel, which I started the same day. I cannot wait to see how Baru's story progresses! Hats off for Baru Cormorant!
Crossposted from my main.
( Read more... )
I was hanging on every page by the end, and first thing Sunday morning I was off to the library to pick up the sequel, which I started the same day. I cannot wait to see how Baru's story progresses! Hats off for Baru Cormorant!
Crossposted from my main.
Backyard Foraging
Jun. 16th, 2025 01:46 pmmarycatelli posting in booksBackyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn't Know You Could Eat by Ellen Zachos
A discussion of wild and garden plants in North America. Roots, flowers, leaves, fruit. . . how to harvest, what to check, what can be done to prepare them.
A discussion of wild and garden plants in North America. Roots, flowers, leaves, fruit. . . how to harvest, what to check, what can be done to prepare them.
dinosaur_comics_feed| archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about |
| ← previous | June 16th, 2025 | next |
June 16th, 2025: This weekend I'll be in Utrecht for Heroes Dutch Comic Con - the biggest con in the Netherlands! I have never been to the Netherlands so please do send me all your SECRET NETHERLANDS RECOMMENDATIONS, and I hope to see you there! – Ryan | ||
In the spirit of the "I might be transsexual" badges at Michfest
Jun. 16th, 2025 09:09 amrydra_wong(Historical reference.)
"Maybe I'm Trans?" badges
Raising money for the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, who have been doing excellent things like organizing this parliamentary briefing:
Attitude: Trans+ legal experts warn Supreme Court ruling could breach human rights as 60+ attend Parliament briefing
"Maybe I'm Trans?" badges
Raising money for the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, who have been doing excellent things like organizing this parliamentary briefing:
Attitude: Trans+ legal experts warn Supreme Court ruling could breach human rights as 60+ attend Parliament briefing
Unshelved strip originally published on Mon, 15 Dec 2014
Jun. 16th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Mon, 15 Dec 2014.
Unshelved strip originally published on Fri, 12 Dec 2014
Jun. 15th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Fri, 12 Dec 2014.
Unshelved strip originally published on Thu, 11 Dec 2014
Jun. 14th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Thu, 11 Dec 2014.
Valley So Low
Jun. 13th, 2025 04:52 pmmarycatelli posting in booksValley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories by Manly Wade Wellman
A collection of uncanny tales. Some are Silver John. Some feature other men who wander about and know some of the matters -- each one with his tales grouped -- and it's clear that it's one continuity, with their loosely knowing each other, with Judge Pursuivant the sage old man of their knowledge. Others are people who get mixed up in such matters and may or may not escape.
One can see how he was listed in the Appendix N as a D&D source.
A collection of uncanny tales. Some are Silver John. Some feature other men who wander about and know some of the matters -- each one with his tales grouped -- and it's clear that it's one continuity, with their loosely knowing each other, with Judge Pursuivant the sage old man of their knowledge. Others are people who get mixed up in such matters and may or may not escape.
One can see how he was listed in the Appendix N as a D&D source.
![[desperately] Maybe this is from some country where they use commas as decimal points, and also as digit separators after the decimal, and also use random other characters for decoration???](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/reading_a_big_number.png "[desperately] Maybe this is from some country where they use commas as decimal points, and also as digit separators after the decimal, and also use random other characters for decoration???")
Unshelved strip originally published on Wed, 10 Dec 2014
Jun. 13th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Wed, 10 Dec 2014.
Unshelved strip originally published on Tue, 09 Dec 2014
Jun. 12th, 2025 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Tue, 09 Dec 2014.
